


A Mantle Above the Rest

by LeonardChurch814



Category: Code Geass, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:47:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 98,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27862553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeonardChurch814/pseuds/LeonardChurch814
Summary: Between super villains and everyday life, Miles Morales is a busy man. Going to college in Area 11 hasn't helped this either. Now in the middle of terrorists, the government, and a conspiracy that brought the death of his predecessor that comes from the top of the Empire; Miles will be pushed to his limits, choose between friend or foe, and truly learn the weight of the mantle of Spider-Man.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. Stage -1: All the King

**Hello AO3, I am LeonardChurch814, and I will be posting my work from FF.net to this website. Just in case anyone was wondering if this was taken without the original author. I've heard it can be a thing, so just pointing that out. Anyway, I will mostly just be copy and pasting my work from its source to here, so for the most part you can ignore these authors' notes. Chapter 26 will be the first chapter to update at the same time as FF.net, I hope you enjoy.**

_CAP-LOCK ITALICS:_ Spider-Sense

* * *

Alarms, men running every which way, and guns pointed in every direction looking for him…this was a typical Saturday.

"File transfer is 80% done, just hold on for a little bit longer."The voice over the radio told him.

That was easy for her to say, she wasn't in the middle of a 20-man circle beating up crooked cops.

"Keep me notified…"He was interrupted by a fist almost reaching his face, but a quick jump out over the man he threw it and a kick to the back gave him more room to breathe, "…when it's done."He finished.

In front of him, 19 other men stood; ready to swarm him with batons, stun sticks, and a few pistols.

This was work for Miles Morales, the Amazing, Spectacular, Ultimate Spider-Man.

"Man, Willy must be paying you guys something fierce if you're trying to stop me. So, what are the benefits, health care? Dental?"Miles charged the group, shooting web-shots at the men with guns and giving a mean right-hook to the poor unfortunate soul in front of him.

"Get him!"One of the men said, and they charged back.

"I mean, it's gotta be a really good deal if you're trying to kill me? Does he give a bonus to whoever kills me?"Miles made his way through the crowd, punching, kicking, and webbing up the goons that tried to kill him all the while cracking wise.

"Won't you shut up!?"The same man from before shouted at Miles; charging him with a stun baton.

Miles ducked under the swing, shot a short web-line to the man's shoulders, flipped over him and swung the poor guy on the floor. He was knocked out cold.

"Sorry, I can't help myself. I'm working on my stand-up, you think it's good?"Miles joked to the unconscious man before going back into the fight.

At the top of the building, Wilson Fisk gathered his things neatly. Contracts, blackmail, and email of some men or another that owed him a few favors…the sort. It going all swimmingly until that arachnid showed up.

"What's the status of the spider?"Fisk asked his assistant.

"The men are still working on it, please; don't worry about the problem Lord Fisk. We'll see to his punishment, you will never see him again."

Fisk scoffed, "I doubt it."

One of the lights flashed on his desk, someone was accessing his server room, and he had a suspicious idea who it was.

With a click of the button a video screen came on of his server room and in it 20 of the cops on his payroll…knocked out. In the center stood the man in black and red…Spider-Man.

"So, you continue to be a pain in my side?"Fisk asked.

Spider-Man turned around to see the screen in front of him become a live feed of Fisk.

"Hey Willy, just stopping by, how's the business? You know, your guards decided to take a nap, I just found them like this."Spider-Man said, feigning ignorance.

"Such a child, which is why you will never beat me. Try as you might, Spider-Man, but not even you can destroy what I've built. My influence is too vast, too rooted; you are merely one man in a ridiculous costume beating on those without power. Not like me. I am too big to be destroyed Spider-Man, you can't stop me."

"Funny, I wonder what the Britannian government will think when they see these suspicious deals you've been making to the E.U. and the Chinese Federation. What do you think they'll do first? Throw you in prison or strip you of your nobility? My money is on prison but I won't lie, it's a close bet."

Fisk was trembling with anger…how….how DARE HE?!

"Sit tight Willy, I'm on my way up."The feed cut.

"Lord Fisk, what do you want…?"

"Leave, now. Send two squads up here now. I'll kill the spider myself. Take these; leave them at my estate in Maryland."Fisk gave the man his briefcase and sat back in his desk waiting patiently.

His thoughts were plagued with ideas of what he'd do to the spider. Humiliation. Yes, he'd expose him. Show the world who was behind the mask, let it fester. Everyone that was connected to him would suffer; every place he'd live would be destroyed and rebuilt for Fisk. Everything he cherished would become nothing but smoke and dust, and in its place, Fisk will rise. Like he's always done.

He's already killed one spider; he'll let this one suffer before putting him out of his misery.

The doors to his office opened, the squad he asked for had arrived, "What is the status of Spider-Man's whereabouts?"He asked.

"No clue sir, we sent a team to the server room but no one but the men already stationed was there."The team leader reported.

"He's on his way, and when he arrives I want him alive. Beat him however you like, before today ends he will be humiliated."Fisk rose.

"You sure about that Willy, I think I'm pretty humble."His voice, it was in the room.

"Spread out! Find him!"Fisk ordered.

The guards did as they were told; guns rose, looking for Spider-Man.

"Oh Willy, I'm touched, all these people just for me? You shouldn't have."His voiced taunted him.

"You think you can beat me?!"Fisk shouted.

"Think? I already have."The voice…it was behind him.

Fisk turned and running towards him was an invisible force. But as it shimmered back into existence, it turned into the thing he hated most…Spider-Man.

A right hook connected to Fisk's jaw, throwing him across the room.

That had to hurt.

"Alright boy's, whose first?"Miles asked as he readied his stance.

7 men with rifles all aimed at him, this would be easy.

Miles shot a web-grenade, as he dodged the hail of bullets. It connected to the closest goon before detonating and webbing the entire group. Miles pounced on them, kicking them into walls, the ground, sticking them to whatever hard surface there was to get rid of them.

"Your goons were pretty easy to deal with Fisk; maybe you should pay them less. I hear you give them dental."

_BEHIND YOU_

Miles spider-sense rang in his ears. He turned back to see that where Fisk was, instead of seeing him flat on his back, he was charging him. But it was too late to dodge as Fisk grabbed him by his costume and rammed him into a wall.

"I thought I'd show you humility, but now you die!"Fisk raised his arms to bring down on Miles but instead hit the wall.

Miles stuck his hands to the wall and kicked Fisk back a few feet. He flipped himself on to the wall and jumped in the air. 2 shots of web-line connected to each side of Fisk, yanking Miles towards his target. The wall beneath them shattered and they were in free-fall.

Punches and kicks were the only things the two men shared as they fell and fell.

They landed hard on a bridge, seizing the opportunity Fisk readjusted and tried crush Miles again. But Miles was prepared.

Charging his venom-strike, Miles jabbed Fisk in his collar bone, the shock threw Fisk into the air, over the bridge falling again.

Miles jumped after him; Wilson Fisk would not die here.

Judging his shot, Miles aimed his web-shooters and threw out a web-line. Just before Fisk could hit the floor, he was entangled in webs and dangled from the ceiling.

"So…what was that about being too big to fail?"Miles asked.

Brooklyn

"Miles wake up sweaty. I made breakfast."The voice of Rio Morales was the first thing Miles sense, followed by the smell of eggs.

Stretching his arms, and back, Miles got out of bed.

In the kitchen, his mother was at the stove cooking the eggs, and his father Jefferson was laying out the plates for breakfast.

"Good morning Miles, I thought we lost you to sleep."His father joked.

"Huh, yeah, sorry," Miles said as he prepared his breakfast.

"Ay, you scared me last night mijo. You were so late, I know you're too old for bedtime but I can't help myself!"His mother said, bringing breakfast to the table.

"Where were you last night? You weren't at May Parker's were you?"His father asked.

"No, no, I wasn't over there. I was with the guys playing ball. We decided to go up against this other team, and then one thing led to another and by the time I realized it, it was already late."

A lie, of course. What was he supposed to tell them? That he was the (in)famous Spider-Man and he was up late last night kicking in Wilson Fisks company building? It was a white lie, they didn't need to know.

"Well next time you and _the guys_ go out, try and call us? Your mother worries a lot."His father said.

"I'll be sure to let you know next time."Another lie.

This was his life away from Spider-Man.

Miles Morales, 18-year-old high-school graduate. That's what most people saw him as only one person in the world knew that it was a mask for his identity as the Ultimate Spider-Man.

He remembered when he started being Spider-Man; originally it was out of guilt. He failed to help the one person who'd been so selfless to help others without asking for anything in return.

Peter Parker died because Miles didn't help him. But who was he kidding, Miles was a normal person back then, he couldn't help Peter fight against anyone. So he stood and watched as Peter fought against Fisk's forces. Even after all this time, Miles never knew why Fisk wanted to kill Peter. Sure, he busted deals the Kingpin of crime would notice…but what he remembered wasn't about monetary gain.

The conversation rang in his ears like it did so many times before.

" _Well, all things considering I'd say this was a success."Wilson Fisk personally came to see Spider-Man, underneath the rubble that was once a warehouse._

" _Willie, how are you?"Spider-Man quipped. Even in the face of death, it was those jokes that got him by._

_Wordlessly, Fisk tugged on the mask, exposing Peter's face._

" _Oh, that's a no-no."Peter groaned, the rubble was crushing him…he couldn't move, not this time._

" _10 years I've been stuck with you, 10 years I've been waiting for this moment. Prowler, kill him."_

_The man in purple beside Fisk extended his claw-gauntlet, ready to kill Peter._

" _Wait, I know what you're doing Fisk. I've seen it, all the files. Listen to me Fisk, it won't end well. I know, please you can't do this."Peter pleaded with him._

" _Oh, I can't? Let me tell you something, Spider-Man. It's not always about the money. I'd continue with this conversation, but I'm on a schedule. Prowler…"_

" _What would Vanessa think, what would your family think of this?"Peter asked._

_It was silent, and with a roar, Fisk brought his fists down onto Peter. Spider-Man was dead._

On that night Miles' hero died, but it wasn't long before he gained the power of Spider-Man himself.

A random looking spider, nothing entirely special, bit him. It was a rough few days after that, getting used to his newfound powers. But it was with May Parkers help that he learned to control it, and use it for good.

For the last 3 years, he worked every night he could into being Spider-Man, trying to learn what Peter Parker knew about Fisk. 3 years of blood, sweat, and tears…and it all ended today.

**Queens**

The Parker residence was not treated well; in fact, it was treated poorly by those around it. Why? Because of Spider-Man. Britannian policy-both foreign and national-was the most basic rule of nature "Survival of the fittest". Those who had power did not concern themselves with those beneath them, which is why Spider-Man was a polarizing figure. Here was a man with power, gifted with intelligence, strength, and willpower protecting the weak.

Britannia hated that, hated what Spider-Man stood for. The strong protecting the weak, that wasn't going to pass.

Which is why May Parker was cleaning eggs from her roof; no self-respecting Britannian would accept Spider-Man. Which is why after Peter was revealed to be Spider-Man, had been the worst day in May Parker's life. Harassment followed her those days; they still do but thankfully not as much. So, instead of getting a mob of people at her front door it's the occasional rock or egg thrown at her.

But she knew the consequences, she knew why Peter did what he did and she accepted it. It was her responsibility to stand alongside her nephew.

"Need help, Ms. Parker?"She turned, behind her stood Miles.

"No, I'm done with it anyway. Come inside, I made tea."

As they entered the house, May locked the door and quickly looked outside for any eavesdroppers.

"Anyone there?"Miles asked.

"No, we're good."

Both of them sat in the living room, as they did May took out a laptop.

"Did we get anything good from it? I hope I didn't risk my life for nothing."Miles remarked.

"I began unpacking the files right after I checked for any malware or anything that could give us up to whoever is working for or with Fisk."She said.

"And?"

May turned the laptop toward Miles, "See for yourself; I wanted to save it for you."

Miles grabbed the laptop to see for himself, there were plenty of files to check.

"Which one tells us what we want?"Miles asked.

May sighed, "The 10th one, named 'C'."

Miles opened the file. Immediately there were text documents, images, notes from Fisk himself, and video. Miles picked the first text documents he could.

"This one is a note from Fisk,"Miles said.

"What does it say?"May asked.

"He's saying something about a project, they're missing someone for the project to work. And that…the Emperor himself has ordered Fisk to search for this person, maybe a scientist?"Miles looked back at May, motioning for him to continue.

The next image file he found was a weird one; it was the entire world with red circles across the globe, many in current Area provinces controlled by Britannia already. They were all labeled as sites of some kind.

After that was an image named the target, the image depicted a young woman (late-teens to late-twenties?). She was fair skin, with green hair and yellow eyes. Her emotion was cold, uninterested.

"What else did you find? "

Miles turned back to May, "Well I found who they were looking for."Miles turned the laptop back to May.

"Hm, any idea who it is?"May asked.

"No, not even an indication of what her name is."May handed the laptop back to Miles.

"Keep digging, I'll bring some tea this time."May sat up and went to the kitchen while Miles dug through Fisk's file on the project.

Much of it were updates on the project, and conversations between him and the Emperor. There were also financial moves to aid in the project. Apparently, this was Fisk's backup plan if ever the Emperor decided that Fisk was of no use to him anymore, he intended to sell the information to Schneizel, the 2nd Prince in line for the throne.

For hours it was like this, scouring the depths of Fisk's involvement with the crown until he found the file he dreaded. It was from Peter. Fisk documented many of Peter's attacks against plenty of Fisk's buildings and some of the sites in Brittania itself. Attached to the document was a call between the Emperor and Fisk.

" _Fisk, what purpose do you have calling me today?"_

" _It's about our resident pest."The Emperor gave an exacerbated sigh._

" _What happened?"_

" _He knows."_

"…"

" _He attacked one of our in-country facilities; we're led to believe he's made contact."_

" _Deal with him, if he has connected to the larger web than he is a danger to us. Hunt him down and end him, regardless of the consequences. I'll have someone cover for you."_

" _It will be done."_

Miles didn't exactly know how to feel, this was the order that killed Peter, the man that was supposed to mentor him. Needless to say, he didn't like it.

He was so lost in thought he didn't realize that May was talking to him.

"...iles…Miles."With a poke to his shoulder, Miles was brought out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry May, did you need something?"Miles stood up.

"You should go back home if I find something I'll let you know."May picked up the laptop and closed it.

"Yeah, sure, I'll see you later."The two hugged before Miles exited the house.

Moving through the streets of New York, Miles had a lot on his mind. Not even including the information he stole from Fisk, but the pressure his parents were putting on him.

They expected much from their son (who graduated in the 10 percentile of his high school, not to brag or anything). Of course, it was expected; they wanted the best for him. So the expectations were high, get a good job, meet a nice girl, go to college, and pay for their retirement…the typical list of expectations.

Sometimes Miles hated the expectations his parents put on him, he was the crime-fighting Spider-Man for Pete-sake. What kind of superhero had to wrestle with living a good life as a normal person? Certainly not any of the ones he read as a kid.

Uncle Aaron never gave him expectations…but neither was he expected to achieve much with his life. It was what got him killed. So Miles guessed that he should be glad he had parents that expected much from him.

Miles sighed, life was hard.

When he opened the door to his home he could hear the shrieking of his parents, his adrenaline went into overdrive.

"Mom!?"He ran into the house ready to give anyone who entered a quick knock out.

The idea's floated around in his head, was it Fisk did he find out. Did Fisk always know? Where was Dad? Is he already dead?!

As he turned the corner, expecting to fight, he turned to only see his mother and father embracing.

"Miles, oh, sorry. We didn't mean to scare you."The two disentangled, with both of their smiles as wide as a Cheshire cat.

"What happened?"Miles asked cautiously.

"Well…remember how we were talking about college?"His mother leaned closer to him, Miles didn't like where this was going.

"Yes?"

"Well, …we got you a spot in a college!"Both his mother and father pounced on him, squeezing him as hard as they could.

"What?!" Miles was happy, he was…

"We got you a college in Area 11!"

The words sunk into Miles. Area 11. That was an entire continent away. Away from his friends, from his home.

As his parents hugged him, Miles couldn't think of a worse fate.

**1 week later**

May sat on her couch opposite of Miles, "So, what's got you in a tizzy?"She asked.

"My parents are sending me to college."Miles started.

"That doesn't sound too bad, why do I have a feeling you're gonna say 'but'?"

"But they're sending me to Area 11."Miles gave a sigh.

"Oh, that's problematic. When will you be leaving?"May stood up and started walking to the back the house.

"Tomorrow, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier my parents have been having me busy."The two of them exited the backdoor and into the backyard, they headed to the shed that housed the secret cave underneath the house.

"No need to apologize. So, how did you get it?"May asked as they both entered the shed and rode the elevator down.

"Apparently my dad saved some nobleman from being robbed. Apparently, he was important because he was able to pull a few strings to get me enrolled before the deadline."As the elevator reached the bottom May walked towards the computer on the far end of the room, she was after all his 'guy in the chair'.

"Well, if you're gonna go gallivanting in another country, you're gonna need more than that re-color you made a few years ago. Honestly, I don't know why you still have it."May typed in a few keys before a picture of Miles' outfit came up on the screen.

Miles found it quite nostalgic; it wasn't meant for him to be honest. It was just another replacement for Peter's if he ever needed a replacement. The spray paint was indicative of his own character stapled onto it, he may have been a totally different person but he was nonetheless inspired by what Peter had done as his time as Spider-Man.

"I just like it."Miles chuckled.

"Well it's time to let go of the old, and embrace the new."May pressed another key and a department opened up beneath the computer.

It was a small briefcase with a finger scanner on it. May pressed her thumb on it and it opened up to reveal a new outfit.

"Originally, Peter thought of having more outfits for different occasions. But of course, things didn't work out the way he wanted. So for the last few years, I've been working where he stopped and I think I got just the thing for you."

May picked up the costume and presented it to Miles. It was black and red like his own, except the spider was embroidered onto the costume, it pointed downwards like a 'V' and had red webbings going across the entire collar bone.

"I hereby introduce the _Ultimate_ Spider-suit, for you Miles. Think of it as thanks, for carrying on what Peter couldn't see through."May handed the suit into his hands and Miles carried it gently.

"Are you sure May, this was originally Peters…"May raised her hand to cut him off.

"Peter has been dead for years; I can't bring him back as much as I'd want to. But what I can do is honor what he would have wanted. You hold the mantle Miles; just…just remember what he told you."

"With great power, there must also come great responsibility."Miles quoted the famous mantra Peter had told him the night he died. Miles steeled his nerves and looked back at May.

"I won't let you down; I won't let him down either."

"Good, now go out there and make a difference."May smiled at him before he left the cave.

' _Area 11, prepare to meet the Ultimate Spider-Man."_

* * *

**This was a hassle to make; it went through a revision probably half-way through writing this because I didn't quite exactly know how to end this. And the consequence is that I wrote an extra 1,000 words. Let this be a forewarning, this will not be how long I make every chapter, this is the exception. Another issue I have to address is Fukatsu no Lelouch, the new movie that came out for Code Geass. I know Sunrise has stated that the previous movies recapping the movies and Fukatsu are alternate times lines and do not have any basis on the original series but I will be incorporating both the original series and the movies into its own. What that means, you'll have to wait. Also, just for clarification, yes the new outfit for Miles is his original costume from the Ultimate universe.**


	2. Stage 0: A New Player

**Skies of Area 11**

"All passengers prepare to disembark; we will be landing in 5 minutes."

Miles groaned and stretched his arms and legs as much as he could without intruding on his neighbors. The flights from airport to airport were long but nothing could prepare Miles for the long ride from Britannia to Area 11.

Miles glanced out his window to see the Tokyo settlement in all its glory. A city built upon a series of layers of metal and tunnels. It was one of the greatest technological ideas in the 21st century. Never again will the Britannia government need to adhere to the geography of the areas they claimed; now they could build on it and create a blank slate.

Miles found it kind of sad to see what was already there to be essentially painted over. But it was Britannia, these things happened all across the globe with every area that was established.

It wasn't long before the plane landed and Miles was on the streets of Area 11.

"Well, here I am."

The Tokyo settlement was large, the largest in the entire country. The skyscrapers were immense, the buildings were spaced well, and there were a ton of alleys good for any self-respecting robber to mug someone in. It reminded him a lot of New York in some ways, all it was missing was the rough personality.

Miles casually strolled his luggage to the exit when he saw a peculiar teenager. He had blue hair, a black and gold school-uniform, a rat-like face, and looked confusingly at the passersby's with a sign in his hand with two words on it.

'Miles Morales'

"So, you're the guy picking me up?"Miles approached him, who in turn looked Miles up and down.

"Oh, you're Miles aren't you? Sorry, Milly didn't give me a photo of you. I was almost gonna call her since I couldn't find you."He gave a sort of chuckle and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Miles. My name is Rivalz Cardemonde, and I am a part of the Ashford Academy student council!"Rivalz stuck his hand out for a shake, and Miles met him halfway.

"I'll be honest, I haven't heard of a college having a student council."Rivalz waved to him to follow to his ride, a bike with a side-car attached to it.

"Oh, we get that a lot, Ashford isn't like your normal college. See, Milly is the daughter of the Dean, who also owns the Ashford High School. So don't be afraid when classes are stopped all day because Milly wants to do some crazy activity with the entire student body. Trust me, you'll get used to it by the 4th or 5th time, I know I did."The two of them drove down the road and eventually made it to the highway.

"So, Lloyd told me that the rest of my luggage will be coming in tomorrow. Do you know what the progress is on that?"Miles asked.

"Ugh, that guy!? Don't get me started. No, I don't know anything about what he's doing."Rivalz made a sour face at the mention of his name.

Lloyd Asplund, the man that his father saved was indeed an Earl and a very smart man. He only met him once, and by his attitude wasn't what Miles imagined an Earl to be.

"You two have some bad blood or something?"Miles questioned.

"More like 'or something'. Don't worry, I'm not gonna throw your bed sheets into the breeze."For the rest of the ride, the two rode in silence as they made their way through the city and eventually to the college.

Ashford Academy was big; it spanned enough land for a few football fields to cover just the space between the gates and the front entrance alone.

"Whoa," Miles remarked.

"Don't worry, Ashford may look intimidating, but she's got some of the best people there. If you do right by her, she'll do right by you."Rivalz pulled up to the keypad on the gate and quickly typed in the password that opened the gate.

"Are you referring to the school or the girl?"Miles asked.

"Yes," Rivalz said as he drove the bike into the school.

Rivalz drove to the end of the path until it hit a set of stairs right in front of the building. Rivalz hopped off his bike and Miles did the same.

"Ok since you came later than most people, Milly wanted to give you a personal tour but unfortunately she got pulled into a budget debate with the other student council members. She told me to set you up in a room and she'll get to you when she's done. So follow me to the dorms."Again Miles followed Rivalz to the dorms.

Miles took his opportunity to spy any area that he could use to leave the campus ground to go patrol as Spider-Man. Fortunately, he found a few but they were far in-between. He'd deal with that later.

"The dorms will have everything you need, microwave, refrigerator, desk, and even a stove if you're feeling adventurous. The recreation center is on the first floor, and if you ever need anything the desk is open from 8 am to 10 pm."Rivalz showed him the dorms as soon as they entered, highlighting all its features.

Miles followed Rivalz to the top floor and showed him his room. It was empty.

"No roommate?"Miles asked.

"Agh, sorry. We couldn't find you one, that won't be bad will it?"Rivalz asked.

"No, it's fine. So when do classes start?"Miles asked.

"They start this Monday; take your time to familiarize yourself with the campus tomorrow. I'll check up on you later 'kay?"Rivalz went to leave the room before Miles stopped him.

"Hey, do you mind telling Milly I'm going out to explore the town? I don't want her to wait for me."Miles said as he put his luggage on his bed.

"No problem, I'll let her know."Rivalz waved his hand goodbye and left Miles alone.

"Well, time to go explore."

**Tokyo Settlement**

Diethard had just got out of a board meeting and to ease his frustration decided to go out for lunch at a café near his job. He pulled up his phone reading the news and drank his coffee, each in either hand.

' _Tony Stark rescued from Afghanistan…Prince Schneizel keeping peace talks between the E.U. and Britannia…Oh would you look at that, Earl Monahan is getting married._ ' Diethard took another sip of his coffee, oblivious to the commotion starting around him.

As he reached for his sandwich his chair was bumped into by a waiter…an eleven.

"Hey, watch where you're…"Instead of looking at him, the waiter looked up to the sky.

"Listen to me you…"Again he ignored him and looked where he sight was attracted to.

"What the hell."He gawked.

On top of the building on the other side of the street stood a man, the sun blocked his features but one thing was certain.

"He's going to jump, someone call the police."A woman beside him alerted.

It wasn't every day that something this exciting happened to Diethard, but hopefully, it wouldn't end in a bad way.

It was sudden, the man on the roof jumped. There were screams, gasps, and for a minute the world stood still as the group of onlookers watch as the unnamed man jumped off the roof. As he fell and fell, Diethard only prepared for the worst. He waited for the dreaded splat, but it never came.

Diethard looked as the man shut his hand out and a thin line connected to a nearby building as the man started to swing from building to building.

"Hello, Area 11!"The man shouted as he swung from building to building.

Instantly Diethard was enthralled, he followed after the web-slinger as he moved down the street until he couldn't keep up with him.

"Is that Spider-Man? I thought that guy was in New York?"A man beside scratched his head in confusion.

"You know him?"Diethard asked.

"I know _of_ him. Yeah, he's some kinda superhero, jumped straight from a comic."The man told Diethard.

"Tell me more."Diethard wanted to know 'Who is Spider-Man?'

As Diethard grilled the man of information, Miles swung across the city and took in the sites all while trying to figure out what May had done to this outfit.

"Miles, if you're hearing this it means you've finally put on the new suit I made you. As you've realized it's more advanced than your old outfit. It has an installed operating system, complete with a local map, health analyzer, vision settings, and more web-variants than you remember. Right now the suit is booting up, let it do its job and you'll do yours better. I wish you my best Miles, you'll do great."The audio tape ended and Miles was left alone swinging.

Miles gave a small smile before focusing on swinging through the Tokyo settlement and learning the layout of the city. As he did he couldn't help but notice the glaring elephant in the proverbial room. The ghettos were where the elevens lived, former Japanese who lost to Britannia. Just like the Tokyo settlement, it was just another reminder of what Britannia had done to erase what used to be a prideful nation…Miles gave a sigh before returning back to web-slinging. Sure he was strong, but even he knew he couldn't take down a government.

**Britannia**

**3 months ago**

Two sets of guards met each other in the hall; across the base, everyone was scrambling looking everywhere.

"Have there been any news about the escapee?"The squad leader, Vance McAllen, asked.

"No sir, we sent Joseph and Bryan to search the mess hall but they haven't found anything."The soldier under his command reported.

"Dammit, if he gets out we will never be able to find him. Go out and look for him, no one rests until the escapee is found!"With a chorus of 'Yes Sir's' the rest of McAllen's soldiers left hastily leaving him alone in the hall.

McAllen rubbed his forehead; he wished he never dug up that rust bucket from underneath the ice. Before he could move on a swift hand met his neck and McAllen dived to the ground unconscious.

Behind him stood a man in red, white and blue… the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan. Steve Rogers breathed heavily from holding his position on the roof. For the last hour, he'd been running away from the guards that had tried to kill him. And without proper identification, or even telling him where he was…Steve knew that he was nowhere good.

Steve quickly picked up the man beneath him into the closest room he could find, fortunately, it was a restroom. Steve quickly undressed the man to his underwear and swapped clothes. As he walked out of the bathroom he picked off the name on his uniform before casually strolling through the base.

Steve had to know where he was. Where was Washington? And what happened at Yorktown? He kept asking his guards but they looked at him like he was crazy! He had to know what happened; he had to return to the fight.

As Steve exited the base he could only stare in amazement. The base he was in was made of metal, it itself was a marvel of engineering. But outside made the base look like garbage. Machines drove across the airstrip, with even larger ones that stood like metal-men moving about. Above him, even more metal machines flew. Flew! Like a hummingbird, they floated in the air with an incredible noise.

Steve moved along, not trying to oust himself as someone that didn't belong. Steve kept to himself, not trying to catch anyone's attention.

Behind him, more commotion started to stir; they obviously found the man he took the uniform from. Steve had to move fast, it won't be long until they found out who he was.

Steve had reached the end of the base, only to find it was a cliff into an ocean. Steve silently cursed before turning around only to face a wall of guns pointed at him. The man that he stole the uniform from had gotten a new one from another soldier as it had read his rank and name wrong.

"Well I won't say it wasn't exciting, but your sneaking around has come to an end. Give up now and you'll face the courts, or don't and I'll have my men shoot you. Either way, I get a promotion and you end up dead, a win-win scenario for me."

Steve eyed his surroundings; a metal-man had just come from behind him, holding what looked like a big gun at Steve.

"You aren't going anywhere, so hurry up and make your move. I've already called check on this little fiasco."McAllen gave a devilish smirk; oh he would so enjoy that pay-raise.

Steve did the one thing he could do. He turned and jumped off the cliff into the waters below him, McAllen could only stand and stare at his target had seemingly jumped to his death.

"Send boats! I want his body found and paraded across this base immediately!"The soldiers under his command did as they were commanded and left promptly.

"Damn him."McAllen cursed staring at the spot Steve Rogers jumped from.

**Now**

Steve watched as a car drove down the street, he wondered if it could move from Boston to Connecticut without the paved roads. He also wondered what help had the Knightmare Frames would have been if George had had command of one during the rebellion.

Many of these questions lingered in Steve's mind, 'What If' this, or 'What If' that? In the end, it was the only thing that kept Steve connected to what was his life. But to everyone else, it was over 300 years ago.

Washington's Rebellion, they called it. It was the name of the unsuccessful revolution that was led by the colonies and doomed by the betrayal of Benjamin Franklin.

For the last 3 months, it took Steve to catch up on world history, 3 months to know what had happened to the world he left. He sighed yet again and walked down the street. For the last 3 months, he had been living hidden in Britannia. For some reason Britannia never put his name on the fugitive list, more likely it was a secret not to raise hope for any of the other _area's_ Britannia had enslaved.

So Steve lived, however, he could. He got by just fine; living with the homeless wasn't that bad. But every day he went to sleep, Steve wondered what could have been. What his life with Peggy could have been if he came back home one last time. What life could have been like if George, the man he admired most of all, won his rebellion?

Steve was a man stuck in the past, living in the future. And he couldn't have been in the worst hell than this.

**Bear with me. I know 300 years is a bit outlandish, but I find that Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are both helpful characters to add to the story. Steve gets a lot more screen time compared to Tony's offhand reference but I'll be sure to give him his own spotlight when it's appropriate. Until next time.**


	3. Stage 1: The Demon Awakes

**Ashford Academy**

"Here you can find the Student Council room, most days you can find us here working after school doing paperwork and what-not."Milly's voice entered the room and behind her stood Miles.

The room was empty bar, two other people. A girl with brunette hair sat filing papers and on the other side of the room was a much smaller girl typing away on a computer.

"Oh hey Pres, I just finished the monthly budget you asked me for."The brunette stood up from her chair and approached the two.

"Miles, this is Shirley Fennete, she is a member of the Student Council."Shirley stuck her hand out.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miles. As Milly said I'm a member of the Student Council, as well as Nina over there. Don't be to put off by her, she's just a bit shy, she's really nice though."Nina, oblivious to the conversation, kept to her computer.

"What's she working on?"Miles asked.

"Some project of hers, it's very complicated so I can't really explain it to you," Shirley told him.

"So, that's the whole tour, do you have any other questions?"Milly asked.

"I think I'm good. Though, for a Student Council, four people seem a bit small."Miles noted.

"Oh, there are actually 5 of us. Rivalz isn't here so that must mean…"

"Oh that dumb boy, he's gone off gambling again."Shirley stomped her feet.

"Rivalz gambles?"From what he saw of Rivalz he honestly couldn't have seen it.

"Not directly; Rivalz gambles with our Vice-President, his name is Lelouch."Milly clarified.

"That seems kinda odd."Miles raised his eyebrow, whoever heard of a VP of a Student Council going gambling.

"If you're trying to say he takes our money, don't worry, Lelouch is very good at gambling. He hardly needs our money to use."Milly chuckled.

"Milly, don't encourage this behavior!"Shirley grew a little red.

"Oh, you."Milly let out a hearty chuckle before turning her attention back to Miles.

"Say, Miles, have you decided what club you belong to?"She asked.

"This college has clubs?"Miles yet again raised his eyebrow.

"It's official, Miles you are now a part of the Ashford Student Council!"Milly declared.

"You sure you want me, I don't really have any prior experience in this kinda stuff."Miles shrugged.

"It is college rule that everyone must be a part of a club, and seeing as you don't have one I am only following the rules."Milly laughed again.

Nina slowly walked from across the room to join them, "If it's any consolation, Milly did the same to me when I came here."

"Well, I'm glad to be on board then."Miles gave a nod to Milly.

"Welcome to our little band of misfits Miles, you'll fit right in."Milly wrapped her arm around his neck and brought him into a side hug.

"Uh, thanks."Miles smiled weakly.

"And as my first act as your Student Council President, I hereby command you to take the weekend to relax!"Milly raised her arm in a display of extravagance.

Miles hadn't yet decided if going to college here was what was best for him, but he was starting to like it.

**Britannia, California**

"Tony Stark, what happened in Afghanistan?"

"Who were the men that kidnapped you from your convoy?"

"What is the status of your company after you have stopped supplying the military with equipment?"

All these and more were thrown at Tony as he pulled up to his mansion on the cliff side. Ignoring the press he drove inside through the gate, leaving all of them behind. Even as he parked in front of his door he could hear the constant shouting from the gate.

"Jarvis, send the car to the garage please,"Tony commanded and the car's autopilot sent it to its destination.

Tony sighed as he entered his home and sat on his couch. He pulled up his phone to see the excess amount of messages and phone calls from people he knew, the most aggravating was from Obadiah wanting to talk to him. He dismissed them all and sat back on the couch trying to relax.

"Sir, you told me to dismiss all calls and messages but it seems that Prince Schneizel wishes to speak with you, do I hang up?"Jarvis asked over the speakers.

Tony sighed (again) and sat up straight, "Pull him up on the main television."

"At once sir."

The television sprung to life, and covering the majority of it was Prince Schneizel el Britannia.

"Tony, I just heard the most ridiculous news. Kanon tells me you have 'effective immediately' stopped all arms manufacturing from Stark Industries. Is this true?"Schneizel asked.

"Yep."Tony stood up going to pour him a glass of alcohol.

"You say it so nonchalantly, you do know that Britannia pays a lot for your tech. Why stop it all so suddenly?"

"Oh, it's nothing too bad. Just watched my own missile land 5 feet in front of me and almost killed me. Oh and that the same people who held me hostage were also using it on innocent people, nothing you have to worry about."Tony set down the bottle of alcohol and took a swig from his glass.

"Tony, stop drinking and talk to me."Tony turned from his vice to the television.

"You are upsetting the Britannian war economy with this move. Are you sure this decision you're making is the wisest choice to make?"Schneizel asked.

"Schneizel, have you ever had a Knightmare with a loaded gun fire at you?"Tony asked back.

"I don't make it a habit, no. If you're trying to insinuate coming close to death I'm afraid I have you beat. I can't quite count the number of times I've come close to being killed."A voice responded to him in the background, which took Schneizels attention away.

"That many? Hm, I expect more. That aside, I know what it's like to come close to death."

"No, not like me. You would die from someone who uses _their_ weapons _their_ equipment. I was nearly killed by something I made, something I let be made."Tony hung his head as he sat back on his couch.

"So it's guilt that is eating away at you, not because of avoiding death, but because you cause it."

The words Ho Yinsen told him before he died rung in his head, " _Don't waste it…Don't waste your life…"_

The man had no one to remember him when he was gone, his family dead, forced to work on weapons of war for the last days of his life. That's what Tony would have been if he died in that cave.

"If you are content with changing your company, what will you do next?"Schneizel asked.

"I'll get back to you on that."Tony grabbed the remote and shut off the TV, effectively ending the call.

"Jarvis, did you get that blueprint I sent you?"Tony asked.

"Yes sir, I sent it to your computer downstairs."Tony nodded and walked down the stairs to enter his workplace.

The Workshop was his own little slice of heaven, a lab where he can build whatever he wanted away from the wants and needs of everyone else. He approached his computer and sent the files to display as a 3D holograph in front of him.

"Jarvis, run an inventory check, I want to make sure we have the resources for this."Tony folded his arms together, eyeing each piece in this mechanical puzzle.

"Inventory check complete, all materials required for the Mark 2, are already in the house. Is there anything else sir?"

Tony eyed the metal suit in front of him. This would be the start of his great creation, he wouldn't waste his life. In fact, this was the start of his new life.

**Area 11**

**1 month later**

"I'm just saying Lelouch; if you continue skipping class I doubt the teachers will appreciate it, much less Shirley."Miles walked alongside his two co-councilors.

"Oh stop worrying, I make high enough grades to pass. I won't be getting kicked out any time soon. Just cover for me, will you? Come on Rivalz, we're going to be late."The two ran off without Miles, off to gamble again somewhere.

"That guy is too smart for his own good."Miles crossed his arms.

Miles sighed as he watched the two friends speed off in Rivalz bike and side-car. He looked at his watch, he didn't have a class for the rest of the day but Milly did call for a council meeting after school.

' _I can squeeze in some Spider-Man time._ ' Miles thought as he made his way to the gate and exited the school grounds.

In the last month since coming to Area 11, Spider-Man had been a hit with the media. Of course, Spider-Man wasn't _new_ but his move to Area 11 had caused many to question why. None would have suspected it was because he was attending college at Ashford Academy.

So Miles swung the streets of Area 11 as Spider-Man, occasionally a cop would tell him to stop but after the first week, Spider-Man had been seen as a low-priority threat. Sure he'd get the regular police chase, but nothing came of it.

Miles swung to a nearby roof ledge and sat as he overlooked the city of Tokyo. He pulled out a plastic-wrapped sandwich he bought before leaving Ashford and started to eat it. The crime was relatively low in Area 11, much to the dissatisfaction of Miles. When he did find a crime, it was usually racial-based. Sometimes it was a group of Britannians beating up on an eleven, or the other way around. Sometimes it was a cop, sometimes a nobleman, but every time it was because of race.

Ever since coming here, Miles was conflicted. He didn't know what to do. He was Britannian himself; shouldn't he be prideful of his nation? But his teachings told him that just because he was Britannian didn't give him the right to act on what others did. He had a responsibility to use his power for good, despite the nationality of whoever he was saving. Hell, he didn't kill Fisk when he had the chance. He didn't kill, and he certainly didn't take a side. But maybe Spider-Man should? But yet again, it was another conflict in Miles he had to dwell on.

' _Toss it with the others._ ' He mentally told himself.

As Miles took another bite from his sandwich he could distinctly hear a distant _BOOM_. Ignoring his sandwich, Miles traced the sound to a smoking building not too far away.

' _Terrorists_.' Miles deduced.

Miles jumped into action. He dived off the roof and headed to the smoking buildings. He only hoped he could get there in enough time to save as many lives as he could.

On the screen peppering the sides of buildings, Miles could see the news channels picking up on the explosion, broadcasting footage of it smoking. The feed was interrupted with the Britannia seal and in its place stood the Viceroy of Area 11, Clovis la Britannia.

"To all my imperial subjects, including of course to all the many elevens who cooperate with us…!"

Clovis' speech blasted across the entirety of the Tokyo settlement, Miles shut out the speech and made his way to the buildings on fire. Behind him, he could hear the whirring of helicopters that have already been deployed to stop the terrorists. Miles had no certainty if they were still in the building or not, but his main objective was to secure the victims.

Miles reached the building and started climbing until he found the exposed side. He jumped into the exploded room to already find people coughing and wheezing on the smoke. Miles did what he did best; he picked up the nearest person and started carrying them out the door.

As he dropped off his first batch, they could only cough and give whatever thanks they could.

"If you're hurt call out if you can walk grab someone and get to the door!"Miles yelled over the commotion.

Slowly people started to get up and do as he told them. Miles continued to pick people up and bring them out of the blast zone. On his next trip, he could hear a faint yell. Looking around he saw an overturned desk pressing down on a man.

"Over here!"The man underneath the table yelled, but his voice was weak.

"Hey, hey, I got you."Miles soothed as he picked up the desk and threw it off him.

"Thank you."The man thanked him in between coughs.

"Hey, no need to thank me. So, what's your name?"Miles asked as he carried the man to the exit.

"Warren…Warren Trevor."The man coughed out.

"Well, nice to meet you Warren. Say, do you know what happened here?"Miles asked as he dropped Warren outside of the smoke.

"Elevens came, they wanted something, I don't know what it was but eventually they found it. But some of the guards came to get rid of them and to get away they blew up the building. I'm sorry that's all I know."Warren coughed again.

"Hey don't stress yourself. Get out of here, you've done enough, I'll go…"Miles stopped in his tracks as the vision went away from the destroyed building to nothing but an endless expanse of white.

_She has made a new contract!_

Suddenly the visions became more lucid. A sea of skulls collided into him! The hollow bodies of people moved across his vision. A world he had never seen before came into view and just as quickly as it arrived it left. In its place was a lone symbol.

A red bird.

Suddenly imagery similar to it came crashing into his psyche, churches, priests, and priestesses, and children branded with the same iconography.

And at the end of all that came one single person, _the_ girl with green hair and yellow eyes.

_Find her! And stop her from completing Ragnarok! You are my Spider, go forth and protect the web!_

Miles' vision came back to him. No longer was he in the building helping survivors. Now he was on the edge of the Shinjuku ghettos. Only now the ghettos were being destroyed. It was a massacre as the Britannian army invaded the ghettos and killed everyone they spotted. And in the middle of all of it was one girl who knew what Miles wanted to know.

**The pieces have been set, and the board is cleared. A mysterious hand shows Miles the way, and now things will change for better or worse.**


	4. Stage 2: Caught in a War

**Finding the transcript for an anime is so much better than having to watch a minute of a show again and again just to get one line of dialogue. It helps so much.**

**Shinjuku Ghetto**

Miles wasn't unfamiliar to death. Peter Parker and his uncle Aaron Davis died because of him, both times because he was too weak to use his powers to save the person he admired most. But this…this wasn't death…it was a slaughter.

Beneath him, the Britannian army steamrolled over the poor and disenfranchised people of Area 11. No mercy was shown to whoever got in their way and it was sickening.

"Oh my god."Miles let out.

As he approached the Shinjuku ghettos he could see the deployment of soldiers, tanks, and Knightmare frames. As they advanced the people ran, hoping to not get shot down by the wave of gunfire or crushed under the treads of a tank. Miles could only look in horror as the Britannian army did as they pleased, only interacting with terrorists who were ill-fit to fight back.

Miles looked out to the distance, that nagging feeling that showed him the green-haired girl was still bothering him…but the people were already dying.

"I'm sorry Peter."Miles swung down to the ghettos; he went to help the people.

He first came upon a literal death squad of soldiers killing anyone they came across; Miles had to put a stop to this.

"Murders!"Miles yelled as he shot a web-line to the nearest soldier and knocked him out in one punch.

"Is that Spider-Man?!"They panicked.

"He just took out Roy, kill him!"The resolved themselves and aimed their guns at Miles.

Miles crossed his hands to spray webbing at the other four soldiers and disable their guns.

"Dammit!"One of them yelled as he tried to fire through the webbing.

Miles swung into action and pounced on the soldier on his far right. Throwing a single punch was all it took to knock them out, he turned his gaze to the next and swung as well, repeat for the last two soldiers as well.

With them, all knocked out Miles turned to the civilians cowering. One of them was bleeding out, so Miles approached them. They flinched, fearing what he'd do to them.

"It's all right, I'm here to help."He gently approached the wounded man before shooting a blob of webbing at his bullet wound.

"That should keep his insides where it needs to be. Do you have any place to go? Maybe a shelter?"Miles asked.

The adults spoke Japanese, something Miles hadn't learned yet. Before he could say anything, the youngest spoke for them, "There is a garage in the center of Shinjuku that the resistance fighters made in case this happened. It's 5 miles from here."

"Good, go that way and tell anyone you find to head there as well, I'll save as many people as possible. Stick to the shadows and move slowly, you won't do yourself a favor by running in the open."Miles turned and swung away; missing the starry eyes of the kid he'd just talked to.

Miles swung his way through Shinjuku following the same pattern he'd had done before. Knock out the guards, spray some webbing on any critical bullet wounds, and direct them to the shelter. By 30 minutes he had saved 50 families worth of people, and he was going to do it again when he was interrupted.

3 Knightmares had rounded the corner, guns pointed to him ready to fire.

"So this is the pesky insect?!"Miles dove out of the way as a hail of bullets came his way.

Miles clung to the building and turned back towards the 3 Knightmares that attacked him, "Why are you doing this?!"Miles asked, dodging another hail of bullets.

"These filthy elevens don't deserve being alive if his highness says so! You wouldn't know, so die now, by order of Kewell Soresi!"The Sutherland continued to fire as Miles kept just out of the cone of fire.

'Okay Miles think, what's the best way to take down a Knightmare?'

Miles inspected the machine, his gaze moving towards the land spinners. Miles turned his swing and dove underneath the bullets and shot as much webbing as he could to fully encapsulate the wheels on Soresis Knightmare.

"What the…?"Kewell tried to turn but he couldn't.

"Don't worry sir, we'll take him!"The Knightmare to his right proclaimed.

Miles watched the logic sphere popped open from the Knightmare, now was his chance. He changed his momentum yet again and readied his venom strike. He struck out his hand and hit his target. The Knightmare stumbled back from the damage.

"I'm hit, I can't see!"

The last Knightmare had taken its time, and he was ready to fire.

"Die you insect!"He proclaimed.

But before he could shoot, a wall of bullets came from behind a wall destroying two of the Knightmares as forcing Soresi to eject. Miles turned towards where the firing came from and saw a group of Glasgow's.

"Friendly fire?"Miles pondered.

"Hey, you're the Spider-guy right?"One of the Knightmares asked.

"Who's asking?"Miles asked.

"Just the guy that saved your life that's who, you will never forget the name Tamaki Shinichiro!"He yelled through the speakers.

Miles looked on in confusion, were terrorists using Knightmare Frames?

"Hey Spider-guy, down here!"Miles followed the source of the voice to a man waving his arm in the air. Miles jumped down from the side of the building he was perched on to meet with the man.

"Do you need help?"Miles asked, looking over the man he couldn't see any noteworthy injuries.

"You got an admirer; he said to give you a radio."The man pulled out a hand radio and put it in Miles' hands before leaving.

Miles brought the radio to his ear, "Uh, hello?"

"For a vigilante, you do excellent work I'm impressed."The voice on the other end spoke.

"Who is this?"Miles asked with an edge to his voice.

"Just someone with a common interest; to protect the weak from the strong. Look around you, what do you see? It is the poor and downtrodden people of Japan who have been taken advantage of by a corrupt system that prioritizes the will of those who abuse their power."

Miles realized this; he'd known that Britannia wasn't a saint in any stretch of the word. But…

"I've been watching your exploits since you've arrived, all you've down is help the people Britannian and Japanese alike. You fight against a nation that controls a third of the world. I believe you would be a useful ally."

"You want to fight against Britannia, is that right?"Miles asked.

"I want to defeat Britannia; I want to free the weak from the oppression of the strong. Will you help me, Spider-Man?"The voice over the radio asked.

Miles stood silently as he watched over the Shinjuku ghetto, the man over the radio made a point. Britannia had wrongfully abused its power. This massacre was proof of it. But, he couldn't.

"I appreciate the offer, and I respect your philosophy. But I can't help you. I don't take sides. I help people despite their nation and their belief. If they hate me so be it, but I can't be a part of a terrorist cell."Miles threw away the radio before the man over the radio could respond.

In truth, Miles was conflicted. Sure there were people in power that he didn't agree with. But Miles wasn't a killer, he'd never killed anyone before and he wouldn't do it because an anonymous man over the radio asked him to.

Miles swung from building to building again. The terrorists had certainly turned it around. The Britannian military had fallen back, and the people were free to leave without being shot at. Maybe they left?

All hopes that he was right were thrown out the window when he heard more shooting. Miles went to investigate and saw a fight between a Sutherland and some Knightmare frame he'd never seen before.

It was white and gold with a red gem on its chest, and at the moment it was chasing down a Sutherland. Miles watched as the Sutherland shot at the nearby buildings to get away. Like an expert gymnast, the new Knightmare expert dodged all the debris.

"Aaaaah!"Above, falling down fast was a woman and her child.

Miles shot two web lines to the nearest building and yanked himself to catch the woman. But before he could catch her the Knightmare abandoned his chase of the Sutherland and caught the woman. Said Sutherland drove off before either could go after it.

The White Knightmare let the woman and child go, who screamed at the Knightmare afraid for her life. Miles had never seen a Knightmare abandon his target to save a civilian. He was all right in Miles book. When the White Knightmare turned to Miles, he gave it a thumb up before swinging off hoping to find more civilians to save.

Miles kept swinging when he found a soldier on the ground, pinned against some rubble. He freed the man, before getting an idea. He took off the soldiers' helmet and changed the radio frequency in his mask to match it.

"…ssible terrorists in H4. Tank division 7 will rendezvous with Tank division 4 and wipe out all terrorist in H4. Don't leave any survivors."

Miles got up and could see a tank convoy drive down the road far to his left.

"Wait that's the shelter!"Miles realized so he followed after the Tanks in order to stop them.

Miles swung after them but was too late as they had already blown up the front door to the garage. He couldn't make out what he said, but it was clear that he was going to fire on the civilians in the shelter.

"Fir…"The commanders' voice never finished as Miles webbed his face and the guns of the soldiers when he jumped over the tank.

"You won't kill anyone else today!"Miles declared.

"It's Spider-Man, kill him."The soldiers charged him but were not prepared for Miles reflex and skills.

One by one the soldiers were knocked out. Miles turned his attention back to the tank commander and jumped on the latch.

"That means you guys too!"Miles said as he webbed down the tank crew.

With the civilians' safe, Miles turned back to them and did a headcount. Many were standing or holding onto a loved one, but a handful had been caught in the blast the tank made as it opened the shelter doors.

"Is everyone okay?"Miles asked as he stepped down from the tank.

_BEHIND YOU_

Miles jumped away from the tank as another forcefully made its way into the shelter. This time Miles didn't know if he could stop them from killing the civilians. But luckily he didn't have to.

"Attention all forces, cease fire at once. I Clovis, third prince of Britannia and royal viceroy of Area Eleven, hereby command you, all forces are ordered to cease fire at once. You also cease destruction of any buildings or property. All casualties, whether Britannian or Eleven, shall be treated equally and without prejudice. In the name of Clovis la Britannia, you are hereby ordered, cease fire at once.

I shall allow no further fighting."The voice of the Viceroy was heard by everyone, even the military themselves who were confused by the proclamation.

"You heard the viceroy, gather our men and regroup!"The soldiers obeyed their order and their commander.

"You got lucky this time stinkin' elevens."The tank commander said as he withdrew his group.

Miles let out a sigh and turned back to the people. They were shaken, but they'd be all right, at least the ones who lived. Miles walked to the exit, a few cries of thanks rang from the people but that didn't respond as he left.

With the people safe, and the cease-fire announced, Miles took a perch above a larger building watching as the Britannian forces stopped what they were doing and regroup back to the G-1 base.

"Man, I'm beat."Miles sighed as he let his legs dangle from the roof, hopefully, this would be the last time he'd have to fight in a warzone.

* * *

**The next day**

Life had returned to normal when he left the Shinjuku ghetto. Miles had promptly fallen on his bed and went to sleep after all the fighting. By the next day, he was fresh enough to take Milly's usual antics.

"Guts!"Milly yelled as Miles entered the room.

"A new spell Milly?"Miles asked as he closed the door behind him.

"No, I think she's already tried using this one," Lelouch commented.

"Well then I guess you need to keep working on it Madam President," Miles said as he sat down at the table.

The day went on like usual, save for the rumors around campus. The terrorists had supposedly deployed poison gas at Shinjuku!

'Impossible, there was no poison gas when I was there. Could this be a cover-up of the massacre? But for what reason? If Clovis went of TV and told him of his campaign against the ghetto no one would question him.' Miles thought.

Unfortunately, the answer eluded him. He was only there for the last half of the battle. And that's where most of Miles' thoughts went. The voice he heard in his head, the images, the girl from Fisk's files. What did they all mean? And what happened to him? One second he was helping civilians in a bombed building and the next he was in the ghettos. Was this a part of the conspiracy that Peter knew about? Miles couldn't say.

Miles train of thought was interrupted when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He turned around to see Rivalz, Milly, Shirley, and Nina behind him.

"Hey bud, we need your help," Rivalz said.

"Uh sure, what's up?"Miles asked.

"We're inducting a new member into the Student Council but we're missing something. Milly is gonna be cooking food for our guest but Nina here dropped some of her lab data in the clubhouse. Do you mind helping us?"Shirley asked.

"No problem, I'll be happy to help."Miles followed the three as Milly left to do her cooking.

It wasn't hard to find, Miles increased perception made his vision dozens of times better than before. But Miles didn't want to show off so he let it go unseen and let Rivalz pick it up.

"Ha, found it!"Rivalz proclaimed.

"Oh thank you Rivalz, I'd have no idea if I'd lost our lab data."Nina thanked him.

"Thank goodness, it was starting to get tiresome," Shirley complained, rubbing her back.

"Did you guys find it up there?"Milly asked as she entered the room.

"We got it Pres!"Shirley said as the four of them walked down the stairs.

Miles followed them when he froze. Before him was Lelouch, but it was the girl in front of him that gave him pause. She was the same one he saved at the shelter from the Tank division. What was she doing here? Or maybe what was she doing fighting as a terrorist?

"Lelouch, didn't you know? We're here to induct Kallen as the newest member of the student council; it was my grandfathers' idea."Milly said as she spread out the food and plates.

Miles slowly made his way down the stairs, keeping his eyes on Kallen.

"The principals?"Lelouch asked.

"He thought that, with her poor health that a club that didn't give her a lot of stress would work best for her. A pleasure to meet you, Kallen, I'm Milly Ashford the student council president."Milly shook her hand.

"Same here, my name is Rivalz, I'm the secretary! Anything you need, I can hook you up with."Rivalz shook her hand as well.

"Hi, I'm Shirley; I'm with the swim club. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hi there, my name is Nina."

Miles walked up to Kallen before sticking his arm out.

"Pleasure to meet you, Kallen, my name is Miles. I'm the council's treasurer. Say, have I seen you somewhere before?"Miles asked.

"My father is a nobleman; perhaps you've seen me with him?"Kallen suggested.

"Er, sorry, I'm no noble. So I probably wouldn't have been invited to a fancy party like that. It's good to meet you though."Kallen shook his hand, and Miles backed off.

What is she playing at? Or maybe she wasn't playing? Miles too had a double life; maybe the person she saw in Shinjuku was hers?

"Shirley, I'm sorry to ask but could you set these on the table for me?"Behind them, Nunnally, Lelouch's sister came in.

He hadn't met Nunnally a lot, the spare times they've been in the same room they never talked. He could see why Lelouch was so protective of her. Blind and disabled, it was a terrible thing to live with. But he respected Nunnally; she didn't let that stop her attitude.

"All right people let's get this show on the road!"Rivalz shouted as he brought out a bottle of champagne.

"Champagne Rivalz, I honestly expected something a little more down to earth from you," Miles said.

Liquor was one of the many things that had changed when Miles got bit by the spider. He couldn't get drunk, or maybe he just had a high tolerance. In any case, he didn't need to ever worry about getting a hangover again.

"Rivalz! We're minors, we can't have that. Give it here."Shirley said as she confronted Rivalz.

"Hey, relax is sparkling cider. Unf, here Lelouch catch!"Rivalz tossed the bottle to his friend.

"Oh not you too Lulu."Shirley got off of Rivalz and started to walk to Lelouch before the two of them crashed onto the ground and the cork to the bottle flew off.

Miles watched as it headed straight for Kallen, and before it hit her she swiped it away. How very unlike a girl in poor health. But as the cork flew away from Kallen, the stream of champagne did not.

* * *

Shirley had thought it was a great idea to bring in the TV for the student council to lounge about and watch. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out the way she wanted to.

"Lelouch it's awful!"Nunnally cried to her brother as he and Kallen had come back from getting her a new set of clothes.

It truly was.

"Prince Clovis has been taken from us. He fought for peace and justice against all of the Elevens. He died a martyr. We must all bury our sorrow, and carry on his will."On the TV Jeremiah Gottwald of the purist faction had spoken.

"We here at HI-TV bring you special coverage!"The screen switched from Jeremiah's speech to a news anchor.

"The suspected murderer of our Prince Clovis is still currently at large. At the moment, the vigilante known as Spider-Man is wanted for the murder of Prince Clovis!"

**Not all things end the way they should.**


	5. Stage 3: The masked Men of Justice

**Government Bureau**

In a secluded room in the Government Bureau, the Purist Faction held a meeting concerning the death of Prince Clovis.

"Sooner or later the public has to know. I've already sent word to the homeland; they're sending Princess Cornelia to take over in Clovis' place."Lord Kewell reported to Jeremiah, the leader of the Purist Faction in Area 11.

"We're going to need a scapegoat. We can't possibly allow the public to question that some uppity terrorists can kill nobility without Britannia getting revenge, not again."Jeremiah's thoughts returned to that of his greatest failure, Marianne Vi Britannia. His first job and his first failure was to see to her protection and he screwed it up.

"I've done the pleasure of looking through the Elevens that are signed on as soldiers, and I believe I found the perfect fit."Kewell handed him a file, Jeremiah opened it to see their scapegoat.

The boy in the file had brown hair and green eyes, and his name was Suzaku Kururugi.

"Kururugi? Isn't that…"The name was a distant one, but recognizable.

"Yes, this is the son of the former Prime Minister of Area 11, Genbu Kururugi. I can't help but suspect the boy was working on some dastardly deed."Kewell hinted at.

"Where is he at now?"Jeremiah asked.

"That's the harder part; it seems that the special division picked him up to pilot their prototype Knightmare," Kewell said.

"A.S.E.E.C., but that's under Prince Schneizel."Jeremiah pondered this for a moment.

"If we frame Kururugi of killing Clovis it won't matter. We'll have enough evidence to convict him. Isn't that what we want Gottwald?"Kewell pressured Jeremiah to accept his idea.

He knew what Kewell was doing. If Jeremiah agreed Kewell would get the reward for _capturing_ Clovis' killer. He had little doubt that he would Kewell would replace him as leader of the Purists. To be frank, Jeremiah had no love for the Purists; he guarded and loved Lady Marianne who would never fall with the Purists ideals.

He had to honor Lady Marianne's memory, to live on and preserve her memory. If Kewell took control of the Purists from him…he'd have nowhere else to go but under the boot of Kewell Soresi, the man already hates him enough. Kewell will not have the luxury of commanding over him this day or any other.

"No.," Jeremiah said.

"No?! This is a golden opportunity, we have credible reasoning, and we can fabricate the evidence. We…"

"…will be accusing Prince Schneizels own research branch of treason. I don't know about you Kewell, but accusing Schneizel indirectly of helping cause the death of Clovis is the path that will get us killed."Jeremiah said.

To his right Villetta, his right-hand woman was too busy in thought to give her own opinion. Across the room, however, many of the Purist faction had become divided in thinking. They could agree with Kewell, but that would incredibly risky with no certainty that they'd be alive after the trial. On the other hand, go with Jeremiah and they could at least avoid any blame, but they'd be seen as incompetent. Even now, the Purists are seen as radical, no doubt they would lose something of worth by the end of this.

"Than what do you propose Jeremiah? Please, tell us your grand plan."Kewell pressured Jeremiah.

Yes, Kewell was right in some regard. They had to pin the blame on someone. They could go for a regular Eleven soldier.

Jeremiah's eyes drifted to the screen on the other end of the hall, the TV was muted but the broadcast showed something that could help.

"Kewell, what happened to you during the attack on the pile of dirt they call Shinjuku?"Jeremiah asked.

"Why?"Kewell looked nervous.

"I believe I found our culprit."Jeremiah picked up the remote from his chair and unmated the TV.

"…the bombing of the building, reports say that none other than Spider-Man himself entered the building to help survivors. We have one right here, can you please name yourself."The newswoman pointed her microphone to the man beside her.

"My name is Warren Trevor; I was stuck under debris when Spider-Man came. He lifted it all by himself like he was superhuman. I guess you have to be if you swing around the city at the speed of a car in nothing but your pajamas. Thank god for Spider-Man or I'd be dead."The confession of the man was cut short when Jeremiah muted the TV.

"Yes, thank god for Spider-Man."And with that, Jeremiah's place as leader of the Purists would continue for years.

* * *

"Spider-Man killed Prince Clovis? That's nuts."

"Are we sure? I mean the guy saves people, it doesn't look like he'd kill a Prince."

"I saw raw footage from Shinjuku; there were those webs he shoots out across all kinds of soldiers, he had to have fought against us."

"Man, I was really starting to like the guy too."

Conversations just like this were the rage all across Area 11, none more so than Ashford Academy.

Lelouch had returned to his room for the night after putting Nunnally to sleep. But his mind was focused on the topic in front of him. Spider-Man had murdered Prince Clovis.

' _No, he didn't kill Clovis, I did_.' Lelouch thought.

Lelouch had kept his eye on the masked vigilante ever since he arrived in Area 11 almost a month ago. Lelouch had never seen anyone like him, the way he almost flew through the air, the way he stopped cars with nothing but himself, it was almost unreal. But then again, he had the power to make anyone do as he wished. He had hoped to convince him to join him, even without fully finishing the persona he'd don to defeat Britannia he knew that an alliance with Spider-Man would be a great help.

He was an idealist, perhaps he could show him the truth and it would change his mind? But that had to be saved for later. He had to prove to the world that Spider-Man did not kill Clovis.

"Now all I need is a name," Lelouch said he looked down at his drawing.

The costume had roughly been made, now he had to make a name; something that would strike the hearts of this nation, a name to be remembered by all.

"Hm, how about…"The name clicked, now he had to set the stage.

* * *

Murder. That's what he was being accused of. Murder of Prince Clovis la Britannia.

Miles sat in his room watching the news; Spider-Man was a wanted criminal for a crime he did not commit. He was being framed. He never came close to wherever Clovis was, he didn't even know where. Was it the G-1?

Miles had to set the record straight. He did not kill Clovis. He was not a murderer.

* * *

Suzaku sat on his cot, he worried a lot. He still received no word from Lloyd if Lelouch or that strange girl had survived. Suzaku pictured Lelouch in his mind, he wore a school uniform black with a gold finish. If Lelouch was alive, then that meant Nunnally wasn't too far behind him. If he knew Lelouch, and he hoped he did, he knew that Lelouch would stop at nothing to keep his younger sister safe.

Suzaku looked down at his scar, the wound had mostly healed but he didn't want to re-open the wound again. He remembered going back to the deployment station to get medical treatment. Miss Cecile had certainly made a fuss at him for pushing himself while Lloyd had happily ignored them to check up on his creation.

So here he was, in a cot alone resting. As the day went on he watched the news for any signs of a death toll, none came but something else did.

Spider-Man accused of murdering Prince Clovis.

The headline completely baffled Suzaku. Spider-Man didn't seem like someone to kill, at least that's what the impression he gave off. It didn't help that he wore a mask and took to vigilantism. If he really wanted to help he'd take off his mask and work from within.

Just like he himself was doing.

Suzaku sighed. He leaned back into his cot and closed his eyes; Miss Cecile and Lloyd were inducting him into A.S.E.E.C. tomorrow and would be introducing him to their benefactor. He hoped he could make a good first impression.

* * *

At the edge of the city limits, a girl in a white straight jacket with green hair and yellow eyes looked at the Tokyo settlement with annoyance.

"Now where did that stupid boy go?"She sighed before making her way through the city to track down her accomplice.

* * *

The next day; the sun dropped from the sky and across Area 11 the signs for the immediate capture of the vigilante Spider-Man was posted everywhere. The news didn't stop broadcasting their support for the Britannian government.

So when none other than Spider-Man himself was seen swinging through the city, everyone knew what was going to happen.

Miles perched himself on top of a roof, below him people looked at him with a mix of faces. The honorary Britannians looked on with a hint of hope, and the Britannians looked on with disgust.

"I did not kill Prince Clovis, I am innocent!"Miles yelled from his spot on the roof.

He could hear police had already mobilized. Soon enough they had blocked the street, each officer with a gun out. He felt a slight twinge of regret in his heart. His father was an officer, if he was in New York, he'd be down there. Miles personally knew many of his father's partners, so he silently asked for forgiveness for what might happen.

"Listen to me, I did not kill Clovis! I'm here to show I am innocent."Miles yelled down to the police.

"Spider-Man this is Captain Stacy of the Area 11 Police Department, you are surrounded. I have sent my men up to apprehend you. Take off your mask and turn yourself in, you will be given a fair trial!"

Down below, George Stacy started to sweat. He heard what this guy was capable of. If it was true that he wasn't sure he could possibly nab him. Sure they brought guns, but this guy alone took down 3 Knightmares.

' _Who are you_?' George thought.

Behind him, the sounds of Knightmares were heard. The Purist faction had obviously heard of the commotion and came to claim their prize. At the front of the pack was a Sutherland driven by none other than Jeremiah Gottwald.

The situation was being broadcasted by a helicopter above. In one room, Lelouch sat alone slightly disappointed by the turn of events.

"So he decided to go to the public? This has increased my timeframe, I have to act now; the die has been cast."He pulled out his phone and made a call.

In the A.S.E.E.C. lounge room, Suzaku looked on in judgment.

"He claims he's innocent if he means it he should just surrender to the military."Behind Suzaku, Lloyd watched the TV with only a little bit of attention.

"If he does then I doubt he'll get a fair trial, Britannian or not," Lloyd said as he returned his full attention to his computer looking over Lancelot's repair from Shinjuku.

"But the courts are where the truth is revealed if he makes his case…"

"It won't matter," Lloyd stood up, "they'll find something to convict him of. The courts are very likely against him."

Suzaku grimaced, Britannia needed reformation and Suzaku would be the one who would do it.

* * *

"Fire!"Gottwald commanded his Purists to do.

The 3 Knightmares had open fired at the part of the building Spider-Man stood on. Instead of dying, the pest had jumped off the building away from their gunfire.

"Why are you doing this? I did not kill Clovis!"Spider-Man shouted over the gunfire as he attached himself to the opposite building.

"You will pay for killing His Highness!"Jeremiah said as he drove his Knightmare to the building.

His baton extracted from his Knightmares forearm and swiped at the bug. Unfortunately, Spider-Man jumped out of the way and swung onto the Knightmare.

In Miles' mind, he had no choice but to fight. He ran up the Knightmares arm and prepared a Venom strike. Before he could the other arm of the Knightmare had swatted him off, Miles' brain did a reboot quickly after being hit that hard. He felt his back hit the pavement, and above him, he saw the gun from the Knightmare pointed at him.

"You won't get any court, pest. You get execution!"Jeremiah yelled as he pulled the trigger.

Miles scrambled out of the way, avoiding the child-sized bullet and shot a web-line away from the Knightmare and started to swing away.

' _Dammit_!' Miles thought.

The Knightmares gave chase, they shot at him infrequently. They were probably trying to avoid civilian casualties. Miles certainly didn't want to get someone hurt, he had to lose them.

"Taking credit? That certainly isn't something I'd expect of Spider-Man."A voice spoke over his internal radio.

"Who is this?!"Miles asked.

"You should remember, you dismissed me at Shinjuku. Take the Knightmares down Main Street that is if you want to show the world you didn't kill Clovis."The voice said.

"Why should I believe you?"Miles asked, dodging another bullet from the Knightmares chasing him.

"You fight for justice, I happen to fight for the very same thing. Consider this a favor."The voice said.

Miles cursed under his breath. He could fight them, but that would be incredibly risky. Going invisible and leaving wouldn't solve this problem. But what the voice of the radio was saying…it was tempting.

"Fine, Main Street, I'll be there."Miles made a hard right turn; the Knightmares continued to follow firing pot shots at him still.

A quick look behind showed that the Area 11 Police had started following him as well. Again Miles cursed, this was stupid. He should've thought this through; of course, they wouldn't listen to him.

But if the voice of the radio was right…he just hoped that he was.

Miles turned onto Main Street, "Continue down Main Street, your trust will be rewarded."

_MOVE_

Miles swung his head to see the arm of a Knightmare swipe at his head. He was too late to dodge it, and pain spread through him. He could vaguely feel himself fall to the ground.

"Ouch."Miles groaned.

"Good job Villetta, you will be rewarded for your bravery!"The voice of Margrave Jeremiah came closer.

Miles slowly stood back up; he had to remind himself not to get clothes-lined by a Knightmare again.

"Oh, you're getting up? Let me help you."A boot struck him in the back, pushing Miles down to the concrete.

"Wow, that really…helped."Miles coughed out.

Jeremiah smirked, "Quite the comedian aren't you."

"You gotta be if you put on a onesie and fight crime like me,"Miles said.

Jeremiah's boot kicked him onto his back, the look of victory on his face. Oh each side of the road, people clamored to see the commotion. It was packed, not a soul on Main Street didn't have their eyes glued to the sight before them: Jeremiah Gottwald standing over Spider-Man.

Where the voice of the radio?

"You'll stand for your crimes against the Empire, scum," Jeremiah said.

"A crime he did not commit!"A voice shouted over the people.

Jeremiah looked up, down the street a lone man stood. "What the…?"Jeremiah tried to find the source of the voice.

"Would you sentence an innocent man to death? A man who has only fought for justice!?"Again the voice spoke.

"Where is it coming from?!"Jeremiah asked.

"We don't know sir; we're scanning all radio frequencies."One of the Purists said.

"Jeremiah Gottwald, the man before you did not kill Prince Clovis."Multiple spotlights turned on from the news helicopters in the sky and all focused on a certain spot.

On the rooftop across the street stood a man in a purple cape and gold trimmings, where his face would be was only a mask. From his voice Miles understood who he was, he was the man over the radio.

"Spider-Man did not kill Clovis, I did!"With a flourish, the man in purple thrust his hand out.

"You killed Clovis?"Jeremiah asked.

"That I did, Spider-Man would never kill a man! He stands for justice in a just world, it is a shame that he does not live in one."

"And who are you, a sidekick?"Jeremiah provoked, the Knightmares under his command had already pointed the guns at the man on the roof.

"I? I am Zero! I stand for justice, but I know that this world is not just! This is why I fight back against the system, why I will not have you condemn a man for a crime he did not commit!"

Miles looked on with a twinge of fascination; he was playing it all like a stage. The way he talked, the way he moved, it reminded him of himself. How he would make a spectacle out of catching robbers, a joke at their failure and humiliate them. It was like looking into a mirror, and that mirror was looking back.

"I assume you won't be turning yourself in?"Jeremiah asked.

"No, I will not."

"Typical terrorist, wanting everything but not willing to give up anything, I'm afraid this just won't do."Jeremiah leveled his gun to Zero.

"Quite the contrary Jeremiah, I have something to give you."He snapped his fingers and car started to drive down the road from in between an alley. The car itself was not noticeable much, but what was on it spoke more of the situation they were in.

"What, that's…"Jeremiah's face gave it away; it was the container he had been told contained poison gas. Zero had taken hostage the entirety of Main Street and only he and the Purists were the ones that knew it.

"I give you the choice Jeremiah. Let go of Spider-Man, and Orange will never be revealed to the public."

With those words, Zero had sown distrust into everyone who called themselves an ally of Jeremiah Gottwald. What was Orange? Why didn't Jeremiah want it revealed? What was Jeremiah keeping secret?

"What!?"Jeremiah looked at him in confusion.

"If I die, it all goes public. So you'll do everything in your power to let us go."Zero proclaimed.

Unknown to the world, Zero had just used Geass on Jeremiah Gottwald. It would be a small domino in a chain that would forever change the world.

"You heard him, let them go!"Jeremiah shouted.

His boot moved its way from Miles' chest. Jeremiah forced Miles up and pushed him towards Zero ignoring the objections from the men behind him.

"Jeremiah you can't be serious?!"Villetta asked.

Kewell had had enough; he sat back down into the pilot's chair of his Knightmare and planned to charge the two masked figures.

"You aren't leaving here!"Kewell shouted as he charged but before he could get near, another Knightmare had blocked him.

"What the…"

"Lord Kewell that is an order let him go!"

Miles shot a web-line up to Zero, who had looked like he had been waiting patiently.

"Who are you?"Miles asked.

"I am like you, a man that fights for justice. For now, we must make our leave."The door to the roof behind them opened and a woman in red hair joined them.

"We're ready, Zero."She said.

"Good, Spider-Man, if you can do us the pleasure."He motioned above them.

Miles looked up to see a limousine parked on the side of the highway above them.

"Better hold on then," Miles said as he pointed his web shooters up and shot two web-lines up to the highway.

Below them, Miles could distinctively hear the shouting of the Purists trying to capture them. But as Zero and his partner grabbed on and lifted to the limousine, Zero had pulled out a switch and flipped it on. The canister he rolled out shout out purple smoke and the people went into a craze.

"Colored smoke, but they don't know that," Zero said, noticing the expression of Miles' mask.

* * *

Out in the ghettos, Ohgi, Kallen, and the rest of their resistance cell talked together giving Spider-Man and Zero time to talk alone.

"I can't believe we pulled that off,"Ohgi said as he threw off the chauffeur uniform Zero had given him.

"But we pulled it off, just like Zero said he would,"Kallen said as she too sighed in relief.

"I can't believe it either; we were all sitting on the edge of our seats. Tamaki here more than anyone."Sugiyama admitted.

In the other part of the torn down building, Zero and Spider-Man talked.

"The Purists roughed you up badly, didn't they? Typical of them, but now you know the truth. Britannia is rotten, Spider-Man. If you wish to change the world, join me."Zero stuck out his arms.

"So, did you really kill Clovis?"Spider-Man asked.

"I did. He was an enemy commander, this is war, why wouldn't I?"

Spider-Man sighed, "The gas at Main Street, are you sure it was harmless?"

"I procured it myself, nothing but colored powder. In the end, no one was killed and you were saved."Zero said.

"So you're a results kinda guy? I can't argue with that, but still…"

"Britannia is a worthless dominion, Spider-Man; you who stand for justice will never make it far against an entire nation. But together, we have a better chance."

"Change the world? Is that what you think I'm trying to do?"Spider-Man asked.

"Your change is minuscule, you fight the day-to-day corruption. The beat downs, the robberies, any crime that is unjust you fight. But these are all symptoms, Britannia is the origin of this, if you help me we will bring true justice."

"But you'd kill to make that happen…won't you?"Miles asked.

"War is not won without death, either we do or Britannia does."

Miles looked out onto the lights of the Tokyo settlement. What Zero was proposing, it was to kill.

"I'm sorry Zero, I can't."

"You can't?"Zero asked.

"I can't join you. This…"Miles motioned to their situation.

"I never wanted this. I wanted to help people; I wanted to help the little guy, the ones that couldn't fight back. But what you're proposing…I can't be a part of."

"How so?"Zero asked.

"I won't kill…I can't kill. You'll probably laugh, but it's my moral code. My power isn't something I can't take advantage of, I have a responsibility. Killing people would ignore that, it goes against my responsibility. I appreciate what you're doing, what you've done. But I can't be a part of this rebellion."

"I see," Zero said.

"I won't turn you in if you truly are someone who stands for justice than I won't get in your way."Miles walked towards the hole in the building.

"What will you do now?"Zero asked.

"I'm sure the Purists will crack down on Elevens, I'll add that to my list of things I hate. Goodbye, Zero, hopefully, the next time we meet is on better terms."

As Spider-Man swung away, Lelouch couldn't think of how much of a fool he was. In some way, he reminded him of Suzaku. That being said, he could respect him for continuing to fight on even if he could have worked much better together.

Across the globe, in Britannia, the future Viceroy of Britannia watched with a furious brow.

"You're mine, Zero."Cornelia proclaimed to herself.

**This ended up being really long and took a few more days than it should have to finish. Either way, I wanted to explain Miles' actions here. Noticeably, unlike Suzaku, Miles isn't a guy who abhors someone driven by results alone, no contemptible means and that. Miles is not a killer, it's something he picks up from Peter when he was Spider-Man. Lelouch isn't as mad at Miles about this as he is with Suzaku, who puts his faith into the system, while Miles recognizes the system is broken to an extent but still wants to protect those who get trampled on. Anyway, hope you enjoy, I'll be updating Home Alone next so keep an eye on that.**


	6. Stage 4: Introductions

I was rereading the last chapter, and I noticed the last bit where I had Cornelia enter sounded as if she was watching the conversation between Lelouch and Miles, I should clarify that was meant to be Cornelia watching Zero's reveal. I'll fix it later, so for now just keep that in mind.

Ashford Academy

"Where were you yesterday? I tried to call you but you didn't answer? I went to your room and you didn't open up. Are you hiding something?"The focused gaze of Milly Ashford was a deadly weapon, and it was currently honed onto Miles as he was cornered in the student council room.

"Oh uh, sorry I didn't know you were looking for me."Miles sheepishly replied.

'I'm sorry I was being chased down by Knightmares on main street, jeez.' Miles silently thought.

He didn't return from the ghettos until 2 in the morning, he walked the streets of the Tokyo settlement as Miles Morales until he returned to his dorm. With all the heat on him after the chase and with this new Zero guy, it was best to hide his work attire for something a little more casual.

"I'll make it up to you, somehow," Miles said.

"Hm, I have a few ideas. I hear you aren't as laid back in gym class as you put off. Quite the athletic body you got there, Miles."Milly's usual mischevious smile grew.

"Wait, what?!"Miles stepped back, he heard of Milly's flirtiness before but never on a first-hand basis.

"Oh don't worry, I won't blackmail you for something like that. There's no fun in being forced into that, I do have an errand for you to run, however. The STEM club hasn't sent in their yearly budget reports and I'm supposed to go to lunch with my betrothed, Lloyd. I need you to head over and get it when you're done give it to Lelouch he can fill my place while I'm gone. I have to go, bye Miles."Milly picked up her things and waved before exiting the student council room.

Miles sighed, he couldn't have ended that conversation fast enough. Sometimes it always seemed like Milly was just a pervert inside or something.

"Well, don't want to change her mind or anything," Miles said to himself as he too left the room to go to the STEM club.

"So you seem to have gotten the grasp of your new weapon, C.C. remarked.

"I've been testing its limits since you gave it to me," Lelouch responded as he scrolled on the webpage he was on.

The media had absolutely eaten his public appearance, Zero was a name that everyone knew. He couldn't help but chuckle how fast the media had taken the handful of minutes of footage and turned it into hours worth of coverage.

"You should have let the spider die," C.C. said.

"The spider? You mean Spider-Man, don't you."Lelouch asked.

"Call him whatever you want, there is always a spider and this one will be no different. You should have let him die, he will only come back to bite you."C.C. said.

"Such hostility. But no, I couldn't let him die, the people have faith in him the Japanese more so. If I didn't save him it wouldn't be a lost opportunity, Zero believes in justice so saving the man who fights for it will win me favor."Lelouch explained.

Yes, Spider-Man was loved in the Japanese communities his help in the Shinjuku massacre helped raised his status even more. If he could prove that Zero was as much or more an ally than Spider-Man than he'd have more people on his side.

"Excuse it however you want, but I've seen it before. Once he learns you have Geass, the spider will hunt you down. He'll endanger our contract when he does I will kill him."

Lelouch raised his head from the laptop, he hadn't known C.C. for long, less than a day even, but since than she's constantly been aloof. So it gave him pause when her mention of Spider-Man caused her to act seriously. He had to keep that in mind.

"You cleaned up quite nicely Suzaku," Cecile commented.

Suzaku looked down at his military uniform he'd been gifted by the special corps. He wouldn't necessarily say it was anything special, it was expected of him as a soldier to meet the standards put on him.

"Oh, uh, thanks, Ms. Cecile. Where's Lloyd, I haven't seen him in the lab all day."Suzaku asked as the two exited the mobile base.

"Lloyd is picking up his fiancée, we're going to meet him at the restaurant," Cecile explained as they entered her car.

"Lloyd is engaged? He never mentioned it before, congratulations to him."Suzaku was surprised, Lloyd didn't act like a man soon to be engaged.

"It's not like that."Cecile grimaced.

"What?"

"Well, Lloyd is an Earl and his father expects an heir so you can start to see that this isn't exactly a marriage of love," Cecile explained.

"Oh, I see," Suzaku said solemnly.

"Lloyd is a good man, it's just that he isn't…er, how to say this? He isn't really interested in women or men for that matter."

"Oh, that must be…"

"Awkward is the word you're looking for Suzaku. But enough about Lloyd, we're heading to meet our benefactor, Prince Schneizel, unfortunately, can't come, he has work in the E.U., so we're meeting with our other benefactor Tony Stark."Cecile stopped at a red light and pulled up a picture on her phone and handed it to Suzaku.

Suzaku seldom heard of Tony Stark, but from what he remembered he was an arms dealer of sorts.

"Lord Stark is one-half of our benefactors and he helped fund our operation, he also helped program Lancelot's operating system. Lloyd won't admit it because he's a little protective of his project."The light turned green and the car continued on.

"Is there anything I have to know about him?"Suzaku asked.

"Lord Stark is a smart man, he also prefers to be called Tony. Other than that you should be fine."

The rest of the ride of in silence as the two finally made it to the restaurant where they were dining at. It was incredibly fancy looking, he almost felt underdressed and maybe a little intimidated. A valet picked up their car as they parked, he let Ms. Cecile do all the talking for him no reason to make anyone upset.

"This way Suzaku."Cecile beckoned him.

Suzaku followed promptly, as the two moved through the restaurant he could feel the glaring eyes of the men and women who were already seated. No doubt they didn't like the idea of him being here.

"Cecile over here!"Lloyd yelled, a bit too loudly for the climate of the room.

Sitting at the table in a small section of the restaurant sat Lloyd as his fiancée. The girl looked about early to mid-twenties, blonde hair and blue eyes. She sat alongside Lloyd and a little bit disinterested but still paying attention. The man across from them, however, exuded a different kind of mood.

He dressed in a loose suit jacket, a t-shirt, and jeans. He was either too rich to care or had little to no time to dress appropriately, Suzaku guessed the latter.

"Lloyd, Ms. Ashford, a pleasure to see you again. How are you, Tony?"Cecile asked as the two sat down.

As Suzaku sat, he couldn't help but remember a memory a long time ago. After the invasion, he, Lelouch, and Nunnally had been found by a member of the Kyoto group. He couldn't help but remember a name Lelouch told him, Ashford.

"Doing well all things considering, I assume that's the kid you mentioned in the reports."Stark motioned to Suzaku with his glass of alcohol.

"Private Suzaku Kururugi, sir."Suzaku introduced himself.

"Jeez, they drill that into you in basic? Drop it, by the end of your career you'll be on the other end of that."Tony said as he sipped his alcohol again.

"I know, too uptight. I've done what I can, but it seems like he's a lost cause."Lloyd mocked defeated.

"Let's get down to business, I'm only here for tonight and I'll be leaving soon. I'm transferring sole ownership of your little project to Prince Schneizel, you can keep the Lancelot too in case you were worried."

Lloyd and Cecile were shocked by this, as their jaws had almost hit the floor by the news. Suzaku looked at Ms. Ashford, she hadn't been phased as much by the news but was still surprised.

"I'm sorry could you say that again, it sounded like…"

"Stark Industries is no longer in the arms dealing trade, effective immediately Schneizel will have full control of A.S.E.E.C."Tony reiterated.

"May I ask why sir?"Suzaku asked.

Tony looked at him for a moment before he explained, "Call it a crisis of faith, an epiphany, or whatever you want. I realized something I should have done a while ago."

"Did you talk with Prince Schneizel before this?"Ms. Ashford asked.

"Sent it to him yesterday, if he hasn't seen it now he will soon. I have to go, I paid for the meal so everything is on me."Tony stood up making his way to leave.

"Are you sure?"Cecile asked.

"I'm working on a project so I'm really busy, I only came to tell you about the change in leadership and to have some good food but that's just a bonus. Lloyd, Cecile, best of luck to the both of you."Tony finally left leaving the 4 of them alone.

Lunch had been nothing but small talk between the 4, so when it came time to leave it was an awkward affair. Lloyd had gone to the restroom and Cecile was with the valet getting their car which left Suzaku alone with Ms. Ashford, who he learned was actually named Milly.

"Ms. Ashford, do you mind if I ask you a question?"Suzaku asked.

"Huh, oh sure. What is it?"

"I used to know someone, a long time ago we both parted ways and for the longest time, I never knew what happened to him. Recently I found him, but I can't seem to find him again. I was hoping you may know him."Suzaku explained.

"Oh, uh, I'm not really friends with many Elevens…"

"He isn't an Eleven, he's Britannia. I knew him from a long time ago so I don't know how much he's changed."Suzaku tried not to let everything out in one go, Lelouch was ex-royalty and he didn't want to oust him now.

"Hm, I know a lot of people so you'll have to be specific."

"His name is Lelouch," Suzaku said.

"L-Lelouch? I…I don't think I know a Lelouch. Do you have any other descriptors? Eye color, hair?"Milly asked.

Inside her own mind, Milly was slightly freaking out. Did this boy mean Lelouch Lamperouge? If he did then how did he know him? Lelouch entrusted her with his secret, he was ex-royalty, he had to be careful around this person.

"Uh, last time I saw him, he had black hair, and purple eyes almost amethyst."Suzaku described Lelouch the last time he saw him under Shinjuku.

"Hm, I'll have to get back to you on that one. Suzaku is it?"Milly asked.

"Suzaku Kururugi, I'll stay by Lloyd's side if ever you need to contact me."Suzaku was polite to the woman, it would be easier to explain a call to her husband than to an honorary-Britannian.

"Thank you!"Miles shouted down the hall, it had taken him the better part of an hour trying to find that STEM club but eventually, he did.

He opened the door to see a room full of people, some in lab coats, others in plain clothes. Most of them were hunched over working on something or other. So he found the closest person that wasn't focused entirely on their work.

"Um, excuse, do you happen to know where the STEM club leader is?"Miles asked, the guy in front of him just pointed to the front of the class.

2 people stood talking to each other, a girl with blonde hair and a boy in brown hair. Miles walked up to the 2 and interrupted their conversation.

"Um, hey I'm looking for the club leader. Um..."Miles looked at the paper.

"Jacob Connors?"Miles asked.

"Oh, that'd be me."The boy said.

He moved around the table, only to reveal that Jacob was in a wheelchair. His legs were amputated at the knee down. Miles cringed a little, he probably should have handed it to him.

"I see you're surprised too. There's nothing to worry about, so, papers?"Jacob asked.

"Uh yeah, here. Milly wanted the budget report since she hasn't received it yet."Miles explained.

"Ah, I totally forgot. Gwen, can you go get it?"The girl gave a quick affirmation before leaving to get it.

"That's Gwen, she's my co-leader, she's a remarkable scientist. Say, I don't remember you, are you new?"Jacob asked.

"Oh yeah, I joined this school year, names Miles."He stuck out his hands.

"Jacob, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Suzaku hasn't been getting a lot of focus lately so I did a bit with him as well as Lelouch. Hope you liked it.

Edit: Replaced [line break] with actual line breaks


	7. Stage 5: Plans in Motion

**I don't know if people have realized it but I haven't been writing numbers using letters, and for the longest time it's been eating at me to change it. But I was worried that it would ruin the writing style of this story, in fact that is the reasoning for a lot of my worries of my writing in this story. So I'm just gonna rip the band-aid and do it. This is just my thoughts about the matter and why things are gonna shift a bit. There won't be any change to the story, just how it's being presented.**

**Government Bureau**

"Do you know how much panic you put everyone in? You were gone for 5 hours, no way to contact you, no idea where you went or who had taken you, I was just short of sending Darlton to the nearest terrorist cell to demand you back!"The shaking voice of Cornelia li Britannia shouted.

Cornelia didn't speak with sorrow; it was rage that was inside her heart. Euphemia understood this the most, she was the reason her sister was like this.

"Going to Shinjuku? Are you that ignorant?! Do you know what those Elevens would have done to you if they knew you were a princess?! Ransom, slave trade, and a litany of ideas I dare not even think about!"Cornelia ranted.

Euphemia sat in her room being drilled by her sister for leaving her room at the courthouse without any guards or supervision. She just wanted to see Area 11, but it only got her in trouble.

"Don't forget running out into the middle of a Knightmare fight! You could have been killed!"That had certainly not been Euphemias wisest choice. She had only wanted to stop the fighting between the Pure Bloods, in her defense she didn't know they would fire at each other. But she would dare speak against her sister; Cornelia was a general in the Britannian army and had much more resolve than she ever had.

"Uh, you gave us a scare."Cornelia had seemingly cooled off and sat beside Euphemia. If they didn't share the same name, one would be correct that these two were anything but sisters. Cornelia was the brave, strong, and confident Goddess of Victory, a worthy addition of the Britannian royal family.

Then there was Euphemia, the meek, kind, and fragile princess of Britannia. She had none of her sister's zeal, or her attitude, not even her talent.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, sister."Euphemia squeaked out, not wanting to anger her sister more.

"Worry? Worry is when I think an enemy Knightmare might have shot too close. No, I was panicking."Cornelia had certainly sounded like I when Euphemia had finally turned up with the help of Margrave Gottwald.

"I'm sorry for making you panic, sister."Euphemia restated.

"You've become the right age, Euphy now is the time to choose a Knight to be by your side," Cornelia said.

"This again?"Euphemia asked.

"I won't always be there to protect you, nor will I be there to solve all your problems for you. It is time you chose a Knight that will protect you. I chose Guilford when I was your age, and he has fought by my side ever since. You will choose a knight, I will send you a list of soldiers I believe to be gifted enough to protect you. I have to go now, we can speak later."Cornelia turned to Euphemia one last time and cupped her cheek caringly. "I love you, don't ever forget that. If things go smoothly, this _Zero_ will be dead by the end of the month, you will be appointed as Sub-Viceroy while I'm in the field. I'll send Darlton your duties. Goodnight."Cornelia kissed her forehead before leaving through the door.

"Goodnight," Euphemia said as her sister walked out the door.

* * *

**Ashford Academy**

"We will fight on. We shall struggle, compete, plunder, and dominate. And in the end, the future shall be ours. All Hail Britannia!"The rousing speech of Emperor Charles zi Britannia echoed across the gym walls.

"All Hail Britannia!"

After the gathering, classes were suspended for the day in honor of Clovis leaving each to their own devices. For some, it meant relaxing, others it meant to study, but for Miles Morales it meant work.

"Aaaaand, done."Miles looked at his journal with pride.

"Whatcha got there Miles?"The voice of Shirley Fenette spoke beside Miles as he almost fell out of his chair.

Miles sat in the Student Council room, alone (or at least he thought) working on his journal. For the last 5 minutes, Shirley had watched him lean back and focus entirely on his journal. What was in it she had no clue, so curiosity got the best of her and she approached him.

"Jeez Shirley, you almost gave me a heart attack."Miles warned her as he sat back up.

It was true; Miles had not heard her or even sensed her. Of course, she wasn't the first to achieve this. His parents also had this effect on him, which led to a lot of close calls over the years. Thankfully this was not one of those close calls.

"Sorry, you just looked so focus on that journal of yours. What is it?"Shirley asked.

"Well if you want to know," Miles laid the journal flat on the table and showed it to Shirley. "It's my latest tag."He said.

Shirley leaned in and saw for herself. It was a small drawing of the Tokyo Tower, around it was swirls of purples, cyans, and pinks. It looked almost hypnotic like it was pulling her in.

"I didn't know you were an artist."Shirley redirected her attention back at Miles.

"Well I've just been busy lately, but I still don't have any spray cans to actually put it up yet. So it's staying in my journal for now."Miles lamented.

"Spray cans? Why would you need spray cans?"Shirley asked.

"Oh, I see. I don't draw on paper, I tag stuff."Miles told her.

"Tag?"Shirley asked confused.

"I spray paint this on the walls of buildings or in a tunnel."

"You graffiti?!"Shirley accused him.

"Graffiti is completely different, I'm making art here. Look at this, does this look like something you'd see on the side of a train?"Miles pointed to his drawing of Tokyo Tower.

"I suppose not, where did you learn this from?"Shirley asked him.

"My Uncle Aaron taught me, he used to do it back in his day too with my dad. I did plenty of tags back in New York, but I haven't done one recently so I've been planning to go out sometime and do it. You want to come with?"Miles asked.

"I don't know, tell me the day and I'll see."

"Alright, I'll be sure to let you know," Miles told her.

Happy with the conversation, Shirley said her goodbye and started to walk away. Maybe this is what she needed to take her mind off of Lelouch and that Kallen girl. They couldn't really be together, right?

"Wait," Shirley said to herself in the middle of the hall, a brilliant idea had just formed into her head.

Many weeks ago, Milly used to talk to Shirley about her favorite show. About a troubled woman who was trying to sway the emotions of the man she loved. She constantly teased Shirley about the parallels. But one thing she remembered was the main actress faking having a relationship with another man to gain the attention of the man she loved! That's it! Shirley will make Lelouch jealous!

As God as her witness, she will make Lelouch jealous!

* * *

**Somewhere in China**

"What news do you have?"A man in black and yellow armor asked one of his servants that approached him.

"We have just received word from our brotherhood in Gulmira. They have been attacked, most have been wiped out as well."He responded.

"How?"He asked calmly.

"They do not know, the survivors claim it was a Knightmare the size of a man. They had never seen anything like it before. The Ten Rings wants to know what their next orders are."

The man stood up, his small throne already hidden behind his massive frame. A Knightmare Frame the size of a man? This excited him; he had an inkling of an idea of who could have done this.

"Tell them to continue their deal with Obadiah, if my presumptions are correct he will be ratted out soon enough. Or he succeeds and he will have access to Stark Industries weapons manufacturing."

"Sir?"The servant not yet caught up who his master was referring to.

"You heard my orders, The Mandarin commands it!"

* * *

**Government Bureau**

"Are the conditions in order?"Cornelia asked.

"We have brought all ranking officials who were there the day of the Shinjuku raid. Although…"Guilford grimaced.

"What is it?"Cornelia asked.

"We had reports that Spider-Man was at the ghetto fighting off soldiers. We have an accurate timeline of events, but we don't know if he will also attend. Since Zero's reveal we've only seen brief sightings of him across the city."Guilford reported.

"He's laying low until the heat settles what of his motives?"Cornelia asked.

"Well we don't exactly have a manifesto from him, all we have are interactions he's had. Jeremiah Gottwald told us his conversation between him and Spider-Man. He said he fights crime."

"A vigilante."Cornelia pointed out.

"It seems so, from the arrest files I received from the police department, it seems that the criminals he does fight end up heavily bruised. There have been no occurrences of deaths related to Spider-Man."

"He's a hypocrite. He claims to fight crime but doesn't finish it. That's beside the point. It seems that our recreation of the Shinjuku raid won't be as accurate as I'd hope but it's an acceptable loss. If the vigilante wants to prance around and fight crime let him, we're after Zero. Set the time for tomorrow and alert the media. I want Zero to know we're coming."

* * *

**Tokyo Settlement**

"Honey, foods ready!"His mother Marta exclaimed from the kitchen.

I'll be down in a minute!"Jacob yelled back, he was so close.

He'd been working on it for months. He'd used dozens of splices, but he'd finally found the one. Now he just had to find the right sequence, he was so close.

"Jacob, your mother is already done cooking. Hurry up."His father shouted from the bottom of the staircase.

"I'm almost done!"

Maybe he needed more X? No, that would hamper regeneration. Maybe Y? That could wo…no, no that would cause a complete meltdown. Maybe…maybe…

Jacob had entered the sequence in his head, years worth of genetic studying poured into one thought, one single moment in his life that he had hoped would make all the difference.

The simulation began, and he watched with bated breath. This was his moment; this is where he would…

"Jacob, I've been shouting for the last minute are you alright?"His door abruptly opened to the sight of his father.

Before he entered the room, Jacob had switched the screen and looked like he was busy. He needed to keep his metaphorical mask up.

"Uh, yeah dad. I'm fine."He said.

Curtis Connor looked at his son worryingly. "Are you sure, it's okay to tell me." Curtis raised both hands to his sons face checking for any warmness.

"I'm fine dad, let's go eat."His father smiled and wheeled Jacob to the escalator built for him.

In his room, the computer he was working on beeped and beeped and beeped.

_Sequence complete Lizard DNA 100% match_

* * *

**Britannia**

Steve liked to think he was opened minded, but even some experiences were weird for him.

"Here's your Pepperoni pizza you ordered, have a nice day."The woman at the counter handed him the cardboard box and went to the next customer.

Steve was growing accustomed to the way of life that was the 21st century, he liked it a lot to be frank. The internet was so helpful, television gave him countless hours of entertainment, plus he didn't have to boil everything. But recently it hasn't been the TV or the internet that had his attention, it was Zero.

_"I? I am Zero! I stand for justice, but I know that this world is not just! This is why I fight back against the system, why I will not have you condemn a man for a crime he did not commit!"_

Those words rung in his ears, could this Zero actually mean what he said? It was so hard these days to talk to someone without any need to lie. He had to know, but how could he put his trust in this Zero?

It was a dilemma he had as he ate the pizza he ordered with money he had scrounged up. Let it be known that Steve Rogers does not steal.

**We haven't checked in with our good friend Steve Rogers in a while, so why not do it now while we witness the birth of so much set up.**


	8. Stage 6: Reveal

**Hello all, I apologize for my lack of communication. I'm back to write the next chapter and oh boy has my time away gave me great ideas. Again, I apologize for not updating you all but for reconciliation I'll make this chapter a little longer than usual.**

**Tokyo Settlement**

"Good morning, Area 11! Today we'll be experiencing a lightly-cloudy day with a cool refreshing breeze! No chances of rain showers, but as we're moving into autumn we'll be seeing decreasing temperatures and snow over the course of the next couple months."The gigantic screen over looking Shopping district read out the forecast.

"On other related news Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia has finished her sweep of the Saitama Ghetto, known for harboring terrorists and not alerting authorities. Reports say that none other than the man responsible for Prince Clovis' murder, Zero, was spotted in the ghetto. No more information is being given, but when we get anything we will broadcast it...next on today's topic, business man Tony Stark..."

**Ashford Academy**

"You okay Lelouch?"Miles asked as he lugged a box full of costumes from Milly's gender switch festival.

"What do you mean?"Lelouch asked innocently enough.

The room was empty, Milly, Nina, and Shirley had gone on a girls only weekend, Rivalz was out working, and Kallen left early because she didn't feel well. All of that left Lelouch and Miles alone in the club room doing work for the prom next month.

"Oh, please, I can tell when you're sleeping in class. You've been out at nights haven't you? Rivals told me you ditched your gambling matches. I also noticed you've been skipping classes lately."Miles had personal experience, his earliest days as Spider-Man consisted of multiple late nights, sleeping during class, and plenty of skipped classes.

"I hadn't pegged you as an admirer of mine."Lelouch gave a small chuckle.

"Oh yeah laugh it up, but seriously what are you doing?"Miles asked.

"If you must know, I'm actually Spider-Man in secret."Miles put down the box he was carrying. He looked across the ground and found a small glove from one of the boxes. He picked it up and tossed it at Lelouch. "Hey, Spider-Man, catch!"

Lelouch turned around in time just to have the glove hit his face. It didn't hurt, but it did shock him. Miles gave a laugh to Lelouch's shock who felt a little embarrassed.

"If you want to keep your secrets, fine. I just wonder what Shirley will think when she finds about whatever nightly business you're doing."Miles said as he went to organize the boxes in the closet.

Lelouch laughed with him, but on the inside, Lelouch hoped his friends would never have to learn of what he was doing...or what he planned to do.

Miles let the subject go, but not before side-eyeing Lelouch.

**Outside the Tokyo Settlement**

"General Kusakabe, we are ready to proceed with your plans."One of his Captains called to him.

Kusakabe stood up from his seat, around him stood 50 of his most loyal soldiers, those who were willing to do what was necessary for the restoration of Japan.

"Men, what we plan to do today will change how the Japanese Liberation Front deals with these invaders. Some of you are new, some of you I have fought alongside for years. Know that whatever happens after today, I am proud to call you all brothers. Let our victories be swift and our enemies fall beneath our blade in the hundreds!"

Kusakabe raised his sword, his soldiers raised their fists in solidarity; today they would become heroes.

**Saitama Ghetto's**

"Yes sir, the product is shipping out as we speak."

Inside an abandoned warehouse in the Saitama Ghetto, Lawrence Gilibrand sat in his comfortable leather chair watching the workers on the bottom floor.

"Good, by the end of the month, we should be seeing profit. Be sure to give some 'free samples' to our usual customers. No doubt they'll pay up for it when they ask for more. I have some meetings to attend to, call me if anything happens to the product."The phone hung up immediately.

Lawrence sighed; working for Mr. King came with high expectations. He certainly didn't want to disappoint him. With a quick glance at his computer, Lawrence oversaw the entire drug operation. For this one night he was his own king.

_*THWIP*_

With one flawless movement, Lawrence was flung out his chair and suspended in the air. Before he could scream a blob of tissue shot its way to his mouth and shut him up before he could alert anymore.

"So, Lawrence, tell me what I want to know."Above him, holding him by the collar of his shirt was none other than Spider-Man.

Spider-Man stuck his hand out and ripped the webbing off his mouth, the man was shaking.

"Please don't hurt me."He pleaded.

"Man, do I already have that kind of reputation? Lawrence, I'm going to be straight with you, I want to know where your boss is. 'Mr. King' seems to be the resident Kingpin, so would you mind telling me where he is?"

"I-I don't know, I just ship out the drugs I don't manufacture them, I swear!"He stuck his hands up and started to shake.

Spider-Mans eyes squinted and his fist clenched his collar harder, he didn't like that answer.

"Okay, okay! He delivers us the product through the docks. Every Saturday at 1a.m., same boat every week! You can't miss it; it's the only thing moving that late! That's all I know, please don't hurt me."

Spider-Mans grip loosened, and eventually Lawrence was dropped to the ground on his butt. With a sigh of relief, Lawrence started to stand before a force pushed him back down. He was webbed to the ground.

"You stay there, I'm going to bust down this operation. Don't worry, I'll be sure you'll be picked up by the cops."Spider-Man dropped to the floor and exited his office. For the next few hours, Lawrence could only sit and listen to the men downstairs fire their guns and get beat by Spider-Man.

**Area 11 Police Dept.**

Commissioner Stacey had a good day, no purist factions were telling him what to do, his daughter came by during lunch and dropped off his favorite sandwich from that mom & pop store he liked, and he didn't have to hear anything from Princess Cornelia. Today was going well.

"Sir!"And there it went.

George sat up straight and opened his eyes; making himself look busy he turned towards his printer.

"Yes, private?"George asked as his door burst open.

Yuri Watanabe, honorary Britannian, recruited last month, and personally sponsored by him. Today, ruiner of good naps.

"Dispatch just called, they said they just received a call from an anonymous tip calling in a shooting in the Saitama Ghetto's."She explained.

"There are always shootings in the ghettos, Watanabe. It's not a ghetto for nothing."George said.

"Well you might be excited to hear there are a bunch of drugs on sight, and a reported sighting of Spider-Man himself."Watanabe smirked as George quickly turned around.

"So you said there was a shooting? Well send some of our men; I want a report by tonight."Yuri saluted before quickly leaving his office.

George watched Yuri exit his office, like most she was almost running to get to her car and get to the scene. As he was left alone, George sat back at his desk and turned on his computer. One quick click landed him on his file of Spider-Man.

George leaned back in his chair; in all his years as a cop none would match this case. None would hold a candle to his magnum opus. He would be the one to unmask Spider-Man.

"Captain Stacey!"A shout from down the hall called to him.

George groaned, it seemed there was never a perfect day, "What is it this time?"

**Outside Lake Kawaguchi**

"We are reporting live from the Lake Kawaguchi hotel, where terrorists from the organization calling themselves the Japanese Liberation Front have ceased the hotel. Just 30 minutes ago, they sent a list of demands to our Princess, and current Vice Roy, Cornelia. So far she has not budged on her stance. She will not make deals with terrorists. The Area 11 Police have blocked all access to and from the Lake Kawaguchi hotel; it is only a matter of time before the terrorists lose. We will continue to broadcast as events unfold."

Suzaku watched from within the A.S.E.E.C. mobile transport as the events transpired. To say he was disappointed in Kusakabe was a minor way of putting it. He had met the man when he was but a boy, his father and Kusakabe would speak many times during the war. Now here he was, threatening innocents just to fulfill a means to an end. He hated it.

"Are you alright Suzaku?"Ms. Cecile asked, her voice worried.

Suzaku stood up from his seat, his plug-suit already on and his face stern, "It's nothing ma'am, I just…"

"Did you know that man?"Cecile asked, walking next to him.

"I did, but not today. He's a terrorist, nothing like the man I once knew. Is the Lancelot ready Ms. Cecile?"Suzaku asked.

"Lloyd just messaged me, we're waiting on approval from Viceroy Cornelia to move in but we have yet to hear from her. I believe she doesn't trust us."Cecile admitted.

"Because I'm an honorary Britannian?"Suzaku asked.

"Unfortunately yes, but also perhaps it is because we aren't a part of her personal army."

"She has a personal army?"Suzaku asked.

"Yes, she hand picks her own soldiers. Every infantry, even Knightmare pilot, even her staff are all handpicked. I hear it's because she demands loyalty from her men, some would claim she's amassing power but I personally find that a bit disingenuous."

"Well, if we can't be deployed, let's prepare for such a case."Suzaku and Cecile left the commons for the hangar. If they were needed, Suzaku would not disappoint.

**Hours later**

Diethard watched the building with mild amusement as he lazily fished, the hotel jacking was certainly still top of today's news but it has been quiet since the terrorists put out their demands. Any and all attempt Viceroy Cornelia made to stop the JLF have been thwarted, and so now it was a stalemate.

The situation wouldn't last for more than a day or two, but Cornelia's lack of brute force did make him suspect. Why didn't she destroy the building with the prisoners? It's been known that Cornelia was one to be looser with civilian casualties, so why be so hesitant now? Was it perhaps she thought the meetings members were too important to lose? Or perhaps it was a direct order from a superior?

It was mere speculation, but then again that was what all he had at the moment.

Behind him, Diethard started to hear commotion from the crowd at the police barricade; he looked back up to the Kawaguchi hotel just in time to see the terrorists throw a man off the roof. Now things were getting better.

"Anderson!"Diethard shouted to his assistant behind him, still shocked by the death that happened in front of him.

"U-ugh, yes sir?"The man asked, inwardly Diethard mocked at his meekness. If the man couldn't handle seeing death this far away he would be a terrible reporter.

"Make sure Van 3 got that shot; I want it sent to our editors on the double!"Anderson nodded his head and left him back to his fishing.

"Uh, sir, Van 3 was just stolen."Diethard swiveled his head back to his assistant.

"Stolen? By who?"Diethard said furiously.

"Zero, sir."Diethards wrath quelled and was replaced by confusion of all things.

"What? Zero stole Van 3? What was Gibson doing all the while?"Diethard asked.

"He said he didn't realize what was happening until it was too late."Diethard had to put his head together for this, why would Zero steal a news van!?

"Where's it heading now?"He asked.

"Straight towards the military."Anderson pointed to the blockade at the front of the hotel and sure enough there was Zero.

Sure enough there stood Zero, atop an inconspicuous van owned by Diethards Media Company.

As Zero came up to the bridge, he was stopped by Princess Cornelia and her soldiers.

"Well well, we meet again, Zero. Are you a member of the Japan Liberation Front? Or perhaps you intend to help us? Regardless, our concerns take priority over yours at the moment. And so for the death of my half-brother Clovis, I shall take my revenge right here!"Cornelia stood up from her Knightmare and drew her sword-gun.

Far away from them stood a shadow that watched them, unseen by either party he stalked even closer to the two towering figures.

"It's within my power to save Euphemia for you!"Zero yelled.

"What do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about?"Cornelia's mask was fading, and Zero obviously called her bluff.

"I said that I'm able to rescue her!"Zero stood and waited, but even the shadow knew what Cornelia would choose.

"All soldiers, let Zero pass, I repeat let him through!"Cornelia and her men parted ways from the bridge to the hotel and let Zero go.

Miles stood up from his perch on top of a nearby building. He had his suspicions on Zero, the only thing he's done since his appearance was his actions at the Saitama ghetto. To say Miles was less than impressed would be adequate. Military genius, sure, savior of the innocent…that remained to be seen. There was also the real chance that he'd let the hostages die. Miles wouldn't knowingly leave the lives of his classmates in the hands of a man like Zero.

Miles backed up from the edge of the building and took a running start. He jumped and swung pass Cornelia and her Knightmares, his camouflage kept them oblivious. Swinging under the bridge kept any unwanted eyes off of him as he approached the hotel.

* * *

"Alright, what do you have here?"

Miles perched himself on a lamppost over –seeing the main courtyard of the Kawaguchi hotel. Guards were everywhere, five of them rotated around the edges of the courtyard while another six stood near the gate entrance and the front doors of the hotel.

In the middle of all that was a new van stolen by Zero. It stopped in front of the front doors, and Zero stepped down from the roof to meet with a JLF soldier. While Zero unknowingly drew the attention of the guards, Miles jumped on to the side of the building. With his camouflage Miles could run up the side of the building without being noticed.

Inside, Miles hoped that Nina, Shirley, and Milly were okay. He had to find the hostages quickly before they could do anything else.

As Miles reached the roof top he searched for a way in, "C'mon air vent." Doing a quick glimpse revealed no such thing. "Stairs it is."

Miles walked to the door to the roof and applied enough for to break it off its hinges. Miles did one last sweep of the roof making sure his presence was not spotted by anyone before walking in.

Activating his camouflage, Miles shot a web-line to the roof of the staircase and lowered himself down. Now he had to think, where would Kusakabe put a group of hostages. He wasn't dumb, he was a General (or something), so he'd put them near the middle of the hotel so as to not make it easy for the Britannian military to get. He'd put them near so if they tried to kill him they had to risk killing the hostages. There were 20 floors in the hotel; maybe Kusakabe put them in the 10th floor? He had no way to be certain.

"Find the soldiers, find the hostages."Miles silently said to himself.

He stopped repelling himself until he reached the 10th floor, already he could hear the sound of Japanese being spoken.

" _Tell Kusakabe that we are bringing the princess now."_ Miles peaked outside the door; walking down the hall were two JLF soldiers-one on his radio-and a girl.

The girl stood defiant, her hands clenched, and back straightened. She looked like she was being led somewhere by the soldiers. Was she going to be the next person they'd kill?! Not on his watch.

Miles moved away from the door, the door partially ajar, he ran at it and burst out from the staircase. With his arms stuck out he aimed his two web shooters and hit both soldiers into the walls before they could pull up their guns. The girl screamed and raised her arms to block herself from what she probably thought were bullets.

"Hey hey, keep it quiet!"Miles said in a hush tone.

The girl looked up in amazement. To her left and right both of the soldiers were stuck on the wall, webbing had covered their mouth so not to make any noise. She looked back to her savior, Spider-Man.

"Y-Y-You're the Spider-Man, the one on the news."She said in amazement.

"Yeah, that's me. Look, do you know where the other hostages are?"

It took a second for her to respond, like she never heard anyone talk to her like that. "Oh yes, they're in a storage room protected by soldiers, about 5 hallways that way."She pointed behind here where the guards came.

"Okay, you stay here I'll get the rest of the hostages and guide you all to safety."Miles led her to the emergency staircase.

"But the army-"

"They don't know I'm here, they're still stuck outside. Just stay quiet here and don't move, I'll be back soon."

The girl looked like they wanted to protest but backed down, defeated. "I'll be here than, but please save them. They're all innocent people."

"Saving people is what I do."Miles ran off.

Euphemia watched as the vigilante ran to save the other hostages; it was all she could ever do to just watch.

" _Naosuke, Kaemon, what's your status._ "Euphemia looked down to the radio on the terrorist, this was not good.

* * *

" _Naosuke and Kaemon haven't responded, something is wrong, go check up on General Kusakabe and warn him of a possible attack._ "

Sitting on her knees Shirley looked on as the terrorists talked, both with stern faces. She didn't understand Japanese, but she understood that something wasn't right (at least for them).

_**BAM BAM BAM** _

" _What the-?!_ "The terrorists stopped talking and ran to the door but before they could open it, the door burst off its hinges knocking them both down.

Guns clattering on the floor away from the terrorists, they pulled their knives out and charged at whoever opposed them.

All the hostages covered themselves, fearing the worst. But all that came was a quick joke. "Knives; oh no my only weakness!"

Shirley was the first to look up and see not the army, but the vigilante in black and red, Spider-Man. The soldiers tried to stab him but Spider-Man jumped and pushed both his legs to reach each soldiers face knocking them out and landing in one fluid motion. Like everyone else in the room, she was speechless.

"Okay people, time to get you out of here."Spider-Man said.

"You're the Spider-Man."One of the other hostages said.

"That's right, and right now you people need to get out of this building."Spider-Man motioned his hands to hurry the people along.

"But the princess!"The woman who sat next to Euphemia protested.

"Princess? What prin-oh shi…"

* * *

The entire building shook with a rumble, down below, the Z01 Lancelot had just broken the line the JLF had set up with their shrapnel canon. Up above the talks between Zero and General Kusakabe had just soured.

"Sir!"One of the JLF soldiers had moved to secure Kusakabe.

Zero as well had to resettle himself just to not fall off his seat. With a moment of stability Zero stood up and looked outside, no way Cornelia would attack this brazenly. But sure enough…

"The Britannians have gotten through, but that's impossible."Kusakabe astonished as another rumble shook the building. This time a white and gold Knightmare emerged from the smoke.

Zero looked on with fury. It was that damnable Knightmare, foiling his plans again!

"Kusakabe, we must leave."Behind him the general was being pulled back from the room.

"Until we meet again, Zero."Kusakabe said before he was ushered out of the room.

"Ohgi!"Zero said into his communicator.

"Charges are set, but we were on our way up when we ran into the hostages."Ohgi explained.

"The hostages, but how?"Zero ran out of the room too intended on reaching the evacuation point he had set up.

"They say it was Spider-Man, he went off to look for Euphemia!"

Euphemia wasn't with the hostages?!

* * *

Damn that princess!

_**BAM BAM BAM** _

"Protect the general!"The JLF soldiers said.

Miles jumped through the hail of bullets that the remaining soldiers fired at him. He purposely set her somewhere she wouldn't be caught, but of course the JLF would use the stairs too! Was it a lot to ask that she NOT get captured!?

"Look guys, as much as I like getting in an exercise-whoa!"A bullet grazed his side, looks like they weren't going to listen.

"Fine! I was gonna ask, but now we do it the hard way!"

Miles ran up a wall and jumped to the nearest soldier (of the three) and swung his leg. The soldier was pushed to the ground and webbed before he could get back up. The other two focused fired on Miles as he back flipped over the bullets and stuck webbing over the barrels of each gun preventing them from firing.

Miles ran at the next soldier and slid under him. The soldier stupefied didn't notice his hand had a web-line stuck to it and was promptly yanked with it. He too landed on his back and stuck to the ground as another glob of webbing prevented him from getting up.

The last soldier made to punch but Miles simply moved out of the way and punched him back. Knocked out cold, Miles was confident to give chase to Kusakabe and get Princess Euphemia.

Miles burst into the emergency stair case and spotted the general running up the stairs with Euphemia.

"Kusakabe stop!"Miles shouted but was replied with only bullets.

Miles was in a bind, the stairs weren't big enough for him to outmaneuver Kusakabe, not like the hallways at least. Plus he had the princess; she could get shot or killed if Kusakabe wanted to.

"Damn it."Miles muttered as he ran up the steps after the general.

On the rooftop, Kusakabe emerged with the struggling Euphemia, "Stop struggling you damn Britannian!"

Kusakabe ran to the ledge, he had nowhere else to go.

"Kusakabe, let the princess go!"Coming from the door, Spider-Man ran out.

Kusakabe turned around, his back towards the lake and his gun pointed at the head of Euphemia. Spider-Man stopped just as abruptly as he did. They were in a stalemate.

"Here we are, at the end of my rope. Damn you, and damn that Zero! Japan was better without men wearing masks!"Kusakabe yelled at him, the building rumbled again, still sinking from the blasts by that Knightmare.

"Give up the princess Kusakabe, it doesn't have to end this way!"Spider-Man motioned him to lower his gun.

"It _must_ end with the revitalization of Japan to its former glory, through the blood, sweat, and tears of the Japanese people! Something you wouldn't know, you who lives under their empire, she who enforces it!"Kusakabe jutted the gun into the princess more.

"By killing an innocent girl?!"

"She is not innocent; she is guilty of the crimes of her family!"

"How is that just!?"

"You speak of justice?! Is justice conquering a land of people? Is justice subjecting its people to scrutiny? What about you who hide behind a mask and fights menial crime!? You have power but you do not use it to its full potential, is that justice?! I know what I do is just, history will show that! And I will die for it!"Kusakabe pulled the trigger.

"NO!"

_**BOOM** _

From across the bridge Cornelia watched with rapt attention, only to see the building crumble with Euphemia on top of it.

"Euphemia!"

Within seconds the Kawaguchi hotel had fallen, leaving a tower of smoke in its wake. Cornelia had failed; she had lost what was most important to her…Euphemia.

"Princess look! It's Euphemia!"

Cornelia swiveled her head side to side, to see what Darlton had spotted. And sure enough, swinging from the side of the bridge was none other than Spider-Man with Euphemia in his arms.

"Euphemia!"Cornelia shouted with relief and joy.

Cornelia jumped out of her Knightmare and ran to the bridge where Spider-Man landed. When she caught up Euphemia looked startled, her hair a mess, but she was okay.

"Y-You saved me…"Euphemia looked at Spider-Man with amazement.

"Yeah well, that's kinda what I do."He exasperated in between breaths.

Cornelia ran up to Euphemia and hugged her, "Are you okay?"Cornelia's voiced filed with concern.

"I'm okay."Euphemia hugged her back.

Cornelia let go and turned her attention back to the vigilante. Aside from a few bullet grazes, and the heavy amount of dirt from the building he looked no worse for wear.

"You saved her, and for that you have my eternal gratitude, thank you."Cornelia said.

"Well it's the least I could do."Spider-Man somberly spoke as he looked back at the building.

Miles had killed people, maybe not directly, but the men he had incapacitated in there were never coming out. He turned back towards Cornelia, "What about the other hostages, where are they?"

"My dear Britannians, have no fear. All of the hostages from the hotel are safe and sound. I, Zero, return them to you unharmed!"Out on the lake, the hostages sat on boats floating on the water while Zero and a few handful of his own stood on a ship.

"Of all the brazen audacity…"Cornelia tightened her fist. Spider-Man saw why; Zero may have saved them but they were his hostages now even if they didn't know it. He scanned the boats, and secured on one of them, Shirley, Nina, and Milly sat safe.

"People! Fear us, or rally behind us as you see fit. We are the Black Knights."The Black Knights?

"We of the Black Knights stand with all those who have no weapons to wield. Regardless of whether they be Elevens, or Britannians. The Japan Liberation Front cowardly took innocent Britannian civilians hostage, and they mercilessly executed them. It was a wanton and meaningless act, therefore they have been punished."

"Punished, so that must mean…"Zero killed them.

"Just as former Viceroy Clovis was punished for ordering the slaughter of countless unarmed Elevens, we could not stand by and allow such cruelty to be carried out, and so we made him pay for his actions. I will not repudiate battle on a fair and level field, but neither will I tolerate a one-sided massacre of the weak by the strong. The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed! Wherever oppressors abuse their power by attacking those who are powerless, we shall appear again. No matter how mighty, how formidable our foe may be."

Miles looked back at the hotel, was that justice? Was crushing those men in that tower really just? _You have power but you do not use it to its full potential, is that justice?!_ The words of Kusakabe rang in his ears.

"Those of you with power, fear us. Those of you without it, rally behind us. We, the Black Knights, shall be the ones who stand in judgment of this world!"

* * *

Across the sea, Steve Rogers looked at the TV in a store. The news played it live so nothing was censored. Zero, that's what the news said his name was. Here he was after saving dozens of innocent people, proclaiming to the world he stood in judgment to those in power. Was he the real deal?

"I guess I have to find out myself."Steve told himself.

In the Britannian capital, the Kawaguchi hotel mattered little to his highness, but it wasn't Lelouch or even Euphemia that brought his attention.

"Sir, what should we do with the Spider?"One of his servants asked, this one working for the Geass Directorate.

"We should nip it at the bud before it becomes a problem."Charles said as the TV panned to the aforementioned Spider-Man standing beside Cornelia.

"I have a few ideas, your highness."The servant pulled out a tablet and presented it to Charles.

Charles took the tablet and inspected the screen. In a jar inside the Geass Directorate contained a black substance, "Venom."

"Yes, we are looking for candidates as we speak, we believe we found one."The screen changed to a profile of a soldier.

"I propose Flash Thompson for our new Agent Venom trials."Charles looked with a grin, this would do, this would certainly do.

**I've been working on this one for quite a while now so excuse any errors. I hope this almost 5k chapter is a good enough apology.**


	9. Stage 6-92: Sinister Plot

**So let's continue shall we?**

**Geass Directorate**

"Mr. Thompson, everything you see, and hear from now on is of the utmost classified in the Britannian army. If you speak of any of this outside of this facility you will be court-marshaled and sentenced to death, you have been warned."The man in the dark lavender robes spoke, Flash nodded attentively. He was not new to classified information, but he understood the reason.

"I understand, sir."The man in front of him thanked him before leaving the room, he was alone.

Flash sat up and still, he had no idea why he was brought here, but he still obliged. This was an order from the top, who was he to say no? He was a soldier, and he never questioned orders…well, only once.

The door into his waiting room opened and walking through the door was Charles zi Britannia.

"Your highness!"Flash bowed as much as he could, it was almost pathetic seeing a handicapped man bow. But Flash stuck it out, this was the king!

"Rise, soldier," Flash sat straight up again, looking at Charles in the eye. "Do you know why you are here, Captain Thompson?"

"No sir, I was instructed to follow orders given to me by my Commanding Officer."Flash curtly responded.

"Follow me, and I will show you what you are here for."Charles moved out the door and Flash followed behind him.

* * *

"When I was a young boy, the royal family was no stranger to backstabbing, lies, and cheats. Those who called themselves family were actually enemies who killed to take the throne. My mother was a victim of this, and from that day on I swore to take the throne. I used the tactics of my enemies. Lying, cheating, killing. Nothing was beyond me. After I took the throne I founded this order, with it I dealt with the more unruly and unusual aspects of society. I am hoping you can help me with a particular problem I've been having."

Flash listened as the two of them watched over this secret base from an office window high above. So this was his secret police? Flash never considered it, why have a secret police when the kings very Knights were above the law? But Flash didn't question his king; he was just a soldier after all.

"Sir, if I can. What do you expect me to do? I'm…unfit for duty."Suddenly his legs (or lack thereof) felt a lot more sensitive than a minute ago.

"Alone you can do nothing; you are like a babe needing its parent to care for it. One may consider you dead. But with the right resource you may yet live again. The only question is, will you accept my offer?"

"Yes sir."Flash was not hesitant, if his king asked he would obey.

"So optimistic for a man who does not know what contract he's signing."Charles chuckled.

"I'm yours to command sir."

Charles looked at him for a moment longer before moving to his desk. "Mr. Thompson, I present you with the means to not only walk again, but to serve again." A few taps on the desks surface provided a hologram of…well Flash didn't know what it was.

"Sir?"

"I want you to kill Spider-Man."

Flash didn't know what to say, he was stunned.

"You said you were mine to command. So I give you an order, kill Spider-Man. He has been a thorn in the side of Britannia, and I believe he means to kill me."

"Kill you?"The accusation was strong, it wasn't lightly said that someone planned to commit regicide.

"Yes that's what I said."

"But why me? I'm just a soldier, your Knights are better prepared-"

"My Knights have better issues to fix and I doubt they would kill him. They simply cannot beat him. Which is why I would choose you, you have the necessary DNA to kill Spider-Man."

"Is that the weapon?"Flash pointed to the _thing_ that was being projected.

"Yes, this is Venom. A symbiote that was once bonded to a man named Eddy Brock, he died years ago. It itself is a weapon of untapped potential, able to change its shape to best suit the scenario. The scientists here have been searching for a candidate, that candidate is you ."

**Stark Mansion**

Tony was used to being the center of attention but this was a bit much. Who knew revealing themselves as a super hero was exhausting. A sea of reporters crowded the front gate of his mansion in California, all trying to get an interview with him.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. shoot out a load of extinguisher foam to get rid of the racket outside will you?"

"Yes sir. Also Schneizel called; do you want me to patch him through your T.V.?"

Tony thought about it, and decided against it. "No, keep him waiting, right now I'm busy. J.A.R.V.I.S., play some tunes for me, I got some creativity to work out."

**A.S.E.E.C. Command**

Suzaku had little in the way of experience in Brittanian parties, so when he was surprised by the entire Special Division it was very awkward for him.

"What's all this for Lloyd?"Suzaku asked.

"Well my boy, you single handedly proven that we are useful and worth the pay. More funding means we can keep the Lancelot running, which means you can still pilot, which means we all aren't fired. Hip hip!"Lloyd threw his hands in his usual flamboyant ways.

"Consider this the first of many successful missions. You did extremely well out there."Cecile chimed in after Lloyd.

"Thanks but I didn't save anyone."Suzaku wasn't worthy of the praise, that all went to Spider-Man.

"True, but you destroyed the cannon where many others couldn't. That alone proves you're an Ace pilot. Relax and have fun Suzaku, you've earned it."Cecile grabbed a piece of cake that was sitting on a nearby table and pushed it onto Suzaku. He guessed this was as good a time to get acquainted with parties.

**Ashford Academy**

Who knew one week was long enough to forget a hostage situation?

Miles sat in the student council room with his friends, who not too long ago had a gun pointed to their head. And none of them knew he was the one who saved them. But did they consider Spider-Man their hero or Zero? Miles wasn't necessarily jealous, but Miles didn't think himself a fan. In the time since the Kawaguchi hotel, he's stopped drug dens and fought for justice, was that not enough? How was he one to judge? Miles was fighting outside the law too; it'd be hypocritical…wouldn't it?

And then there was Kallen, she was a Black Knight! He recognized her from her hair back during the Shinjuku Ghetto. Could he rat her out? But she was his friend…or was it just a cover? But then that asked the question, why is she here? If the Black Knights could recruit Britannians, who else was involved? Maybe-

"Miles!"A newspaper swatted him on the head and brought his train of thought back to the present.

Miles looked up from the paperwork he'd been mindlessly working on for the last 30 minutes. Milly stood beside him leaning towards him with a mild annoyance.

"Oh, uh, sorry Milly I was just thinking. What did you say?"Milly continued to show her disapproval but backed off.

"Well now that I have the audience of _all_ our members, I have a little announcement. Next week I will be gone for a dinner."Milly explained.

"Is it with that stupid Earl again? Ugh I hate that guy."Rivalz said.

"Lloyd is a smart man; he's not too bad when you get to know him. Anyways I am going out to dinner and Miles you are invited."Milly handed him a mail with his name on it.

"Me? Why me?"Miles asked.

"Well for one I wanted a plus one," Behind her Rivalz could be heard groaning at his misfortunate fate, "And secondly Lloyd wanted you, said he like to talk with you." Milly handed him an envelope, when Miles tore it open he could see his name written in cursive. From the note alone Miles could guess wherever he was being treated wasn't just a casual affair.

"Thanks, I guess. I don't think I packed a fancy outfit though, just my uniform."Miles looked down to his black and gold Ashford uniform, one quick glance told him all he needed to know, this wouldn't be a suitable outfit.

"Leave that to me, just come by my place and I'll make you look like a million bucks!"Milly winked at him before continuing on with her work, when it came to fashion who better to look to then Milly Ashford?

* * *

In between the vigilantism, the student council (thanks Lelouch), and drawing up more tags (note: definitely _not_ graffiti) Miles depended on one source of entertainment to take his mind off of the confusing politics that was Area 11.

"Miles! Welcome back, I was beginning to wonder when you'd come."Jacob strolled from behind a science table meeting Miles halfway.

Jacob Connors hadn't been Miles most confident vote for: New Friend, but he certainly fit that role. They shared some interests, music being one of them, but Miles figured it was Jacobs new project that fascinated Miles the most.

"Sorry I was late, student council and all. We're still booking caterers for the dance, then Shirley and Milly talked about the press not letting them leave the school…it's been a weird two weeks. So how has your little gecko project been going?"Miles sat on a table.

"It's Lizard, not-I know you're trying to get a rise out of me."Jacob sighed before pulling out a laptop from a bag on the side of his wheelchair. He planted it on the table and quickly pulled up his Lizard project.

"I have simulating the effect; program shows a 100% match! I mean, there are a few kinks in the works a better binding agent perhaps or stronger dosage but it's been going great! Just a matter of time before we get to living trials."The anticipation on Jacobs face was not lost on Miles.

He understood why he wanted this project to work; wouldn't anyone want to walk again?

* * *

Elsewhere in Ashford, Lelouch had plans for the night, namely the busting of another drug smuggling ring. He needed to prepare for The Black Knights, but before that it was putting Nunnally to bed.

Lelouch gave a short sigh before pushing the door open to his home.

"And look who finally came back."Lelouch's heart spiked up and analyzed the situation before him.

Milly, Nunnally, and C.C. all sat in his dining room having tea served by Sayako. Lelouch couldn't tell if fate had it out for him or he had been careless, either way he hated the situation in front of him.

"Big brother is that you? Miss C.C., Milly, and I have been having a wonderful conversation, when Miss C.C. said you had a future together I didn't expect it to be full of Bond…"

"Nunnally! What did I say about respecting ones privacy? Lelouch is a young man; there is nothing wrong with what he and C.C. do together. Even if that includes some very passionate privacy."By this point the blood from drained from his face and the implications had hit him like a truck going full speed, so Sayako's words were absolutely lost to him.

He glanced over to C.C., her face neutral but a quick shake of her head told him exactly what he needed to know.

"Milly, did you come here looking for me?"Lelouch tried to derail this fiasco. For a moment he contemplated using Geass on Sayako and Milly but that brought up two problems. Name, his sister Nunnally and the moral ethicacy of Geassing people so close to him. He wondered for a moment if his disregard of the latter to be worrying.

"Oh yes, I was, then I met this lovely young woman."She pointed to C.C. who had quietly drank her tea. "And I just had to know, which one of you are the su..."Sayako's obvious cough told Milly when to stop.

"Well anyway I wanted to talk, but I forgot to hold you after the council meeting today so I came over here. Miss C.C. was walking around like she owned the place and I was about to kick her out, thinking she was just another one of your stalkers…"Milly was interrupted.

"Lelouch gets stalkers?"Nunnally asked.

"…So I told her to get out and that's when Nuna here told me about you two. With my natural deduction I ascertained your relationship and came to my conclusion that you two are into weird bondage play! Her clothes were a dead giveaway, no wonder why you tried to end the meeting so early."Sayako could only sigh and shake her head, Nunnally giggled like a madman, and C.C. kept her face neutral. He may have been seeing things because he swore she was blushing at one point.

Lelouch himself couldn't help but feel like screaming.

**Geass Directorate**

Flash's throat felt sore from the screaming. The pain was unbearable. But thankfully it had finally passed; it had been the longest 10 seconds of his life. But he felt good; honestly he hadn't felt this good even before he lost his legs.

"How do you feel Mr. Thompson?"The doctors asked.

Flash rolled to the edge of the operating table, as he sat on the ledge the black goo that was injected into him started to form around the ends of his legs. Slowly but assuredly, Venom had reconstructed Flash a new pair of legs.

Hesitantly he pushed himself off the table and stood up, it felt like he never lost them.

_We never did._

And there was the downside, the alien in his head.

"I see you're already up."Charles said from beyond the glass walls, watching him as he stretched his legs.

"I'm ready for duty sir."Flash was given a chance, now was his time to take it.

"Good, but first I'd like to introduce your partners in this operation."Charles motioned for the people beside him to walk in.

The first was a thirty-something woman with brown hair, the second a man in a suit with blonde hair.

"May I introduce Olivia Octavia, and Quentin Beck, one half of your team. The other half will be arriving tomorrow. If you would give him the files Mr. Beck?"Beck nodded before handing Flash the manila folder in his hand.

Flash quickly read over the files, Max Dillon, Flynt Marko, and Martin Li. Electro, Sandman, and Mr. Negative…super villains. And he was their leader to kill Spider-Man.

Flash looked back at his King, "When do we start, sir?"

**Sorry for the wait, I hope this chapter gave a bit of levity. It seems like in comparison to the anime I was in a clear lack of it. With that being said, we finally have our Sinister Six. The roster:**

**Flash Thompson-Agent Venom**

**Quentin Beck-Mysterio**

**Olivia Octavia-Doc Ock**

**Max Dillon-Electro**

**Flynt Marko-Sandman**

**And Martin Li-Mr. Negative**

**My choices had to do with a mix of oldies and new characters not featured as much using/mixing different iterations of their character. As you see we have Doc Ock in her Spider-Verse iteration, and Agent Venom from the comic run. For the rest of the characters you'll see what influences I've pulled from to create each one. I did consider other options, namely Julius Kingsley Goblin, Rhino, and Scorpion to name a few. But I settled down on this combination because they seemed the best mix of characters.**

**Lastly apologies for any errors, I wanted to get this one out and at the time of writing I'm a bit tired. I'll come around and fix this up later. I saw a few errors across other chapters as well so I'm eventually going to go through them all.**


	10. Stage 7: Detective

**Last chapter's title was a little weird; unfortunately you can put periods in the title so instead of coming out as 6.92 it was 692. If any of you have seen the audio dramas from Code Geass you'll know that they aren't labeled as episodes but decimals. So I am trying to replicate that with these in between chapters that don't necessarily line up with the anime. So now you'll see those chapters labeled like 6-92 in order to circumvent that little problem. Now let us continue.**

**Ashford Academy**

"It was so nice meeting you C.C. we have to do it again!"

Lelouch had about enough of it with Milly when he came back home, it took another hour for Milly to finally let off of him before she agreed to leave. So there they were outside, Milly all too clear having had her fun looked back at Lelouch who looked to be flustered.

"Lelouch you have to relax, it's perfectly okay for a young hot-blooded…"Milly was quieted by a hand over her mouth.

"We aren't together, we only have a contract."Lelouch explained.

"No need to tell me how you feel about relationships. I just hope poor Shirley doesn't have her heart broken so badly."Milly gave a hearty laugh at Lelouch's expense.

"What does Shirley have to do with this? Look, can we just forget about this? I need to put Nunnally to bed."Lelouch turned around to walk away before a hand caught his shoulder.

"As much fun it has been to watch you squirm, I wanted to talk to you about something important."The look on her eyes let Lelouch know enough. Lelouch eyed the area before he moved to a nearby tree.

"What is it?"He asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about what's been happening these last few weeks. I know it's been years since you saw them, but with Clovis' death and the Cornelia and Euphemia…I wanted to know if you were okay."

In truth, Lelouch didn't feel much. They were obstacles, ones that needed removing. He got rid of Clovis easily, and now he was being pitted against Cornelia. He didn't hate them; the Li Brittania's were the closest family to his. Cornelia studied under his mother and Euphemia was his first love. If anything he owed them for being the few that did not feel his family was a mistake.

"I'm okay, I promise. I already talked to Nunnally about it, we can't visit his grave but we can remember him how he was."With a bullet in his head, the memory played back in his mind. "And I already told Nunnally we can't be seen by Cornelia or Euphemia, She was disappointed but she understood, no one but you, your grandfather, and Miss Sayako will learn of our true heritage."And he planned to keep it that way.

"Then that's enough for me, there is something else though so"mething a lot more important. Someone is looking for you."Lelouch's heart dropped. He had perfectly handcrafted his life as Lelouch Lamperouge for eight years now and someone was looking for him? No that couldn't happen, not unless…

"Who, who is looking for me? How did they know of me?"Lelouch questioned her, this was bad. He'd probably have to move, go somewhere where they can't find him. But move where? Maybe just move Nunnally and Sayako? Yes, that would work. He'd be bait; he wouldn't let Nunnally go back to that wretched place again.

"He's a soldier, we met from a mutual. He works for Lloyd in the Special Division, he asked for you by name. I don't know why he asked me specifically, but he was interested in finding you again. He identified you perfectly, 'black hair, and purple eyes almost amethyst.' those were his exact words."

Lelouch retreated to his mind, this was bad. His cover could be blown, in eight years he's never failed to keep it intact. But now someone who knew his name and face was searching for him! Now he'd have to move Nunnally, leave Ashford, leave…

No, he didn't have to leave. He wasn't just an exiled prince anymore, he was Zero! With his Geass he performed miracles. If this man was looking for him he would find nothing if he didn't want anything found. He knew what he had to do.

"If this man wants to find me let him, is there a way you can arrange a meeting with him?"Lelouch asked.

Milly looked surprised, "I don't think so but I do know Lloyd brings him everywhere. I don't know why but he likes him. I'm sure he'll come to the dinner next week."

"Are you still open for a plus one?"Lelouch asked.

It took Milly a second before she caught on, and nodded approvingly. "Are you sure you want to face this guy? I don't want to put you and Nana in danger."

Lelouch considered it, but the benefits to figuring out who was looking for him and why outweighed costs. Geass would make short work of him.

"I'll make sure nothing happens."

* * *

"…so than Mr. Moores tells me, ' _Maybe try something simpler._ ' and I-ugh I hate when people talk down to me like that. I'm a genius, not some pup to be coddled! So I tell him to shove it and now I have a week in detention." The exasperated rant from Jacob ended in a sigh.

Miles sat beside him on a laptop, this was his time to finally catch up on the homework he'd been given.

"I think they only see you as just the handicapped kid. I mean, I can't blame them, not when they don't know how you feel."Miles gave his view.

"Exactly! They don't know how it feels, so they should stop getting in my way. I don't want to waste away in this chair," He gestured to his wheelchair, "Let me feel like a normal person. Exercise is important for people, if they won't let me do a sit up next thing they won't let me do is feed myself. You give them an inch they'll take a mile, that's how the saying goes, yeah?"

Miles looked back at Jacob, pulling his gaze from his history assignment, "I think you took the wrong message from that."

"Bah."Jacob swatted his hand like he was trying to hit a fly.

The door to the class opened, "Sorry if I'm bothering you two, I just needed to check on something."

Miles barely remembered the girl, her name was Gwen. She was Jacob's partner the day he met him. They never talked, he doubted they ever would.

"You're looking for the anti-mold experiment? Should be in the back, number One-Five-One."Gwen gave her thanks and went on her way.

Miles didn't know what to think of Gwen, mostly because they never actually talked, but also because in a way she was kinda like Kallen (which considering her secrets didn't give him much hope). She had few friends and left classes early, but people were strange like that. He wasn't one to talk, he was friends with Nina and she was as closed off as it could come…also he was a Superhero so she was entitled to her secrets. That reminded him…

"Say, you wanna catch up on this later? I got plans for tonight."Miles asked.

* * *

Swinging across Tokyo wasn't what many would consider mind clearing, but it certainly was for Miles. The weightlessness of being in the air, the many towers and buildings that provided him the lengthy web-lines and the fall air was his personal favorite time of year. Not too hot, and not too cold.

"Okay now where is that pesky little drug den?"He asked himself. His Intel from the drug runner last week pointed him to the docks at the latest hours of the night. It was a real drag to have to wait so late for these guys.

Off in the distance he could hear a small boat pull in, it wasn't as large as a freighter and surely not one for luxury but it did fit the description.

Miles jumped from roof to roof to catch up to the crew unloading their shipment. One of the warehouses was lit up about a dozen men in very unsuspicious clothing carefully handling every box as it was brought in.

"Time to start the show."

* * *

Clyde set his next box down on the pile, the weight of it shook the entire pile boxes causing him to wince.

"Handle the boxes more gently you moron!" Their overseer yelled from the rafters, "If I find any broken vials in that stack I'll dock your pay, I'm sure the Black King will be less friendly." The threat was very real, so Clyde nodded his head and continued his work.

He didn't get paid enough to argue. So he kept on stacking the boxes, well he would have if the lights didn't go out.

"Hey, who turned off the lights?!"The overseer yelled his voice a little uneven.

Clyde pulled out his handgun, to his right Ronald was barely visible but he could just barely make out the fear on his face.

"I been hearing rumors lately that those Black Knights were shutting down drug dens, they been killing everyone. Maybe it's them!"Ronald's message was clear; someone was here to fuck with them and Clyde didn't take to that very well.

Across the blackness he could hear the clicks of everyone's guns, if these Black Knights were here they chose the wrong people to fuck with.

Only silence filled the room, that and the anxious-filled breathing of every thug in the room. Clyde looked every way he could trying to see anything in the dark.

"AGH!"The sharp yell from someone across the room sparked every gun to point in the direction of the noise and fire.

For 10 seconds the collective firepower of the entire room unloaded their clips to one side of the wall.

"Well, did we get him?"One of the other thugs asked.

He was promptly silenced as he was punched in the face. Under the darkness the mysterious figure moved through the room and every gun started to go off. Every handgun, every rifle, every shotgun started firing in every which way and Clyde was one of them.

The whole room was only illuminated by the gunshots and it was due to this miraculous incident that Clyde could see their perpetrator.

"It's Spider-Man!"He yelled at the top his lungs.

Indeed Miles ran across the grounds of the Warehouse punching and kicking his way through some 20 hired goons. It wasn't really hard when none of them could see.

"He's over here!"

"No I just saw him, shoot over here!"

The collective shouting of so many people added to the gunfire made it almost impossible for anyone to hear anything as Miles tore his way through everyone.

"Alright folks gotta wrap this up!" He shouted as he back flipped into the air. Miles pointed his web shooters in opposite directions and started spraying, landing on his knee.

Miles shot at the direction of the light switch to see his handy work; every goon was pinned to the floor with webbing. Some were subdued and others tried to struggle but none of them were getting out.

"Good work, could have stuck the landing better." Miles whipped his attention to the entrance of the warehouse.

There was only a single person, dressed in a comically large black trench coat, a fedora to match, and a leather mask with goggles sewn into it. To top it all off was a voice modulator to cover their real voice.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realize I was in a noir film." Miles joked; honestly it was cheesy just how far this person went.

"Sure, but it was to my understanding that we weren't in a comic now were we?" The strange noir figure nodded to his costume.

"Fair enough, so what brings you here detective?" Miles asked.

"I'm trying to decide whether to trust you or not, you've seen to garner the public's opinion. Just last week you saved a princess of the crown, I'm sure Princess Cornelia was very thankful to you. And it's not just the Britannians, your actions in Shinjuku have gained you a lot of favor with the Elevens." The detective walked into the warehouse, just a little closer.

"Well I just have that effect on people." Miles shrugged.

The detective didn't say anything, but he did get closer. "But here comes Zero, the one who claims to fight for justice. He will be judge, jury, and executioner to those who prey on the weak. He's certainly been acting on that message, clearing out drug dens much like this one all across the settlement. Your popularity is failing with the Elevens, they don't think you're doing as much as you could be and each passing day the media praises you. With your actions at the Lake Kawaguchi hotel some would believe that you're actually part of the Britannian military."

The accusation gave Miles pause, "I can see you haven't been keeping your ear to the ground than."

"I don't choose sides; I help anyone and everyone when I can." Miles retorted, the look (or rather the feeling) the detective gave didn't seem to buy it.

"That's not what they think, and you seem to think otherwise want to show them that?"

"What?" Miles asked. The detective moved passed him to the back end of the warehouse, it was blocked by another door.

"I've recently been seeing an uptick in drugs being sent into Area 11, it's called Refrain. And its targets are Elevens."The detective pressed the door switch and Miles watched what lie behind it.

Probably 15 people, Elevens, sprawled across the area all acting differently, talking to people who weren't there. All of them expressed joy, some about a job they finally got, about family coming home, all happy memories.

"What happened to these people?" Miles asked.

"They're hopped up on Refrain; poor bastards are hooked to the stuff. They're living their best memories, before the occupation, before their crappy lives now. That's why they'll buy this crap, to live in the past. Better days, as they say." Miles turned to the detective, who didn't lose his focus on the people.

"Why show me this? What's this all about?"

The detective turned his gaze to him, "I've been trying to bust the drug-pin in Area 11, a man by the name of Black King, for three years. It seems like we have a common goal, am I wrong?"

"No, so you plan a partnership?" Miles asked.

"A partnership requires trust; I like to call this a debt." Miles raised his eyebrow.

"Debt?" The detective pulled out a picture from their coat of a very familiar man.

"Lawrence Gilibrand was my inside man, he leaked me info of drug dens…very much like this one." The tension in his voice was strong.

"Ah, I see." Miles nodded.

"Yeah, you see…So, in return for busting one of my moles you will be the one busting down drug dens instead of the police. I call you with information; you do your shtick and bust it. I make an anonymous call to the police. We aren't done until the Black King is behind bars, do you understand?"

"You won't find any arguing from me, detective." Miles raised his hand in defeat.

"Good, take this that's how I'll reach you. You better leave soon; the police will be here soon. Word is they don't very much like you." As if on cue police sirens could be heard nearby.

"Very funny." Miles shot a web-line to the roof of the warehouse. As he passed by the rafters, he made a mock salute to the overseer he pinned to the ground after the lights turned off.

As Miles swung through Tokyo he contemplated to results of tonight. He had a partner now…maybe not one of equal standing but a partner nonetheless.

"So cool." Miles said to himself.

**Yes the detectives outfit is ripping off Spider-Noir, nothing could top him.**


	11. Stage 7-77: Dinner Date

Miles looked down at the address on the card in his hand and back at the house in front of him, then at the address on the mailbox, back at the house and finally back to the card in his hand. The house was fairly large, definitely larger than his house back in Brooklyn. It was 2-stories, cream-colored, and had a big lawn.

"Guess running a college is profitable."Miles put down the card and rang the buzzer.

"Hello?"The voice of Milly spoke from the speaker.

"Hey Milly, it's Miles. Um…nice house?"Miles tried to strike up a conversation.

"Oh, Miles, one sec I'll unlock the gate for you."The distinct click at the gate let him know the gate was open, "There, gate should be open; I'll meet you at the door."Miles gave his thanks and pushed open the gate.

Much to her promise, Milly stood at the door by the time he made it. She dressed in a set of casual clothing, shorts a shirt and sandals.

"Checking me out?"She teased much to his dismay.

"Just surprised, you're usually the one to finish early. I kinda expected you to be wearing a dress already." He checked his phone for the time, they still had an hour. "I'm not too late am I?"

"Not at all, my maids are cleaning my dress now. I just need you to choose your tuxedo."Milly closed the door behind him as he walked in.

The inside of her house looked bigger than from the outside, a spiral staircase in the back of the living room led to the second and third stories, to his left and right were other rooms that lead to other rooms.

"Nice house," Miles said.

"Ha, you should have seen our other house when we were closer to the royal family," Milly said.

"You were close to the royal family?"Miles asked.

Milly pointed to the wall on the other side of the room, it was a painting of a raven-haired woman with soft-purple eyes. She sat regal-like beside a man who looked about in his 50's and graying hair, he looked familiar.

"That right there is Queen Marianne vi Britannia, and the man beside her is my grandfather, Ruben the principal,"Miles nodded his head, matching the face to his memory. "Back then the Ashfords were more known for our Knightmares that the college. We personally sponsored Marianne when she impressed grand-dad with her Knightmare skills."She pointed again to another painting of a Knightmare, it looked outdated compared to the Gloucesters and Glasgows he's seen these days.

"What happened?"Miles asked.

"Well, Marianne eventually gained the eye of our current Emperor; eventually he took her as a bride. Imagine the uproar back then, the Emperor marrying a commoner who was an Ace pilot! How romantic..." Milly mock-feinted. "Well, not everything ends happily-ever-after, unfortunately. Marianne was assassinated almost a decade after she married. After she died our name was dragged in the mud with her. Without her to defend us we lost many of our holdings, and eventually, that left us with the college…and the Ganymede underneath Ashford."Milly's voice softened.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"Milly stuck a finger to his mouth.

"There's no need to be sad, bad things happen all the time. My family is probably the least deserving of pity. We're still happy, we still have a house, and we have food to eat. Thanks for trying to be considerate though, you're adorable when you try to be sincere."Milly smirked as Miles's cheeks blushed red.

Eventually, she guided him to one of the conjoined rooms. It was smaller than her living room but compared to his bedroom in Brooklyn it was at least half the size larger. The center of the room was cleared out to show a rainbow cacophony of tuxedos.

"Alright Miles, which one do you want?"The casual question put him off guard.

"What just take one?"Miles asked.

"Oh yeah, my father has plenty. These are just the ones I chose for you to choose from. All the others wouldn't mix well for the environment. Plus my father had a habit of buying new Tuxedo's a lot when we were a bit more liberal with money."She rubbed the back of her neck and laughed, "Anyway, just choose one and I'll have the maids clean it up."

Miles looked back at the row of tuxedos. Well, if he had to choose, "The red one." He pointed to the far left one.

"Ooh, good choice. Marry; can get this cleaned up in time for him?"Marry gave a quick 'yes ma'am' before she left.

This left both of them alone.

Milly sat back down in the living room, looking more casual than she ever appeared in Ashford. She almost sank into the sofa.

"So, we don't really talk outside of Ashford. What's Milly like at home?"Miles asked.

"Oh? You wanna know more about me? You aren't trying to get into my pants are you?"Miles sputtering and blushing gave her something to laugh at, "Oh, you're so gullible, you know that Miles?"The angry stare he gave back made her giggle.

"Oh no need to be serious, I'm sure my parents wouldn't even allow it. Not unless you're secretly royalty."She gave a dry laugh.

"If I was I wouldn't need to borrow a tux from you. Y'know, before I came to Ashford Lloyd never mentioned he was getting married, much less to someone like you."Milly raised her eyebrow.

"Someone like me?"She parroted.

"Er, not to sound rude. But your personalities don't quite fit. I mean, even the few times I've met him he always seemed…aloof? As if he never took anything or anyone serious."Miles sat down on the single-seat chair beside her.

"That's pretty much Lloyd in a nutshell."

"Is it an arranged marriage?"Miles asked.

"Pretty much, my parents have been interviewing for potential husbands-wives too for the nobles that swung that way. They want to reestablish the Ashford name, what better way to do it than by marrying off their young beautiful daughter? It's a classic."

"Do you hate it?"

It took Milly a second to respond, "When I was younger, yeah, the idea wasn't very popular to me. I was the first-born so I was the clear candidate. Eventually, the idea stuck and I accepted it. My dad used to tell me it was the best way for the Ashford to get back in the world with a noble who wasn't liable to be assassinated."Milly shrugged.

"But you're life is being chosen for you, that doesn't really sound right."

"I made a condition when I was older, I would choose who I marry. I took my limitations and turned it to my advantage, granddad told me I reminded him of when he was younger raising the Ashford name. Eventually, I chose Lloyd, he isn't awful like most of the men I met, and we've been pretty clear what we're both getting out of this. He wants the Ganymede, my family wants the status. Not surprisingly he's been pretty nonchalant about it all. The only reason he's agreeing to the marriage is that his father wants an heir."

"So…"

"Lloyd isn't too keen on marriage either, which made him the perfect choice. I was able to choose my future despite the circumstances."Milly gave off a triumphant smile as she'd just done something clever. That only gave him one question.

"What about Rivalz?"Milly was pulled out of her thoughts and looked back at him.

"What about him?"She asked.

"Well…haven't you noticed? I'm sure it's pretty obvious."

"His puppy love? Yeah, I noticed. I've always noticed. Ever since we were in high school I knew."

"You two went to high school together?"Milly sighed and looked as if she was remembering the day.

"Yep, he wasn't very subtle back then. Not like I could respond to it, I'm supposed to marry Lloyd. Plus…I just don't know."

"You don't know?"Miles asked.

"I don't know if I…if I want to change our relationship. Look at me, I always tease Shirley for her crush and now I'm the uncertain one. It's confusing. I don't want to drag you into the mess that is my love life. What about you? Getting along with any of the ladies? Or is it the men that you prefer?"Again Milly's leisure attitude made him blush.

"No, I don't have a girlfriend, I used to have one back in Brooklyn but…it was very casual. We really didn't mess around. Just a fling I guess. I haven't really dated since high school. I just kinda buried my head in books."That was only one half of his reasoning.

Life as Spider-Man was never safe if he died on the job he would bring down his friends and family. He saw May weather the aftermath of Peter's death; he didn't want that for anyone he cared for.

"Sounds like a weak excuse," Milly argued with her ever-present smirk.

"I just haven't found a reason to get a girlfriend."Behind him, Miles could hear footsteps.

"Milly, your dress is ready. Mr. Morales' tuxedo should be ready shortly."Milly gave her thanks and stood up.

"I'll be back, gotta make myself look pretty. Just follow Sebes when he comes down to get you."Miles nodded and Milly left.

Miles was left to his own thoughts for only a minute before Sebes came down. "Mr. Morales, your tuxedo is ready."

The man had a very intimidating aura to him. He was old, but not old enough to be considered anything but competent at being a butler. His whitening hair and beard added to his distinguished gentleman persona.

"Um, thanks."Miles followed Sebes up the stairs to one of the rooms where his nicely cleaned tuxedo waited for him.

* * *

"My, you clean up well Miles."Milly admired him as he walked down the stairs.

Truly, the tuxedo was a deep red, almost the shade of blood, with black highlights across the suit. It reminded him of his costume but color-swapped.

"How do I look?"Milly asked.

Honestly, he was speechless. She wore a purple blouse, the top half of it was transparent, and it had frills across the seams. She didn't pause to pose for him, flaunting herself in front of him.

"Beautiful."He said.

Milly smirked like it was the response she was expecting. "With that much honesty, any girl would be lucky to have you."

And there went his enthusiasm.

"Yeah…honesty."He said.

The buzzer from the gate rang, "Oh, there he is. C'mon let's go, we have a dinner to go to."

The two of them made their way back to the gate where a very familiar face waited for them.

"Lelouch?"The man in question gave a quick wave.

"Hey, you ready?"He asked.

"Sure, just need Sebes to pull out the car."As if on cue, a very expensive looking luxury car pulled out from the garage.

It stopped in front of them all with Sebes in the driver's seat, "Ready to go Miss Ashford?"

"Shotgun!"Milly called as she hopped in the front seat, leaving Lelouch and Miles in the back.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the restaurant, about 40 minutes if he had to guess. From the outside, Miles could guess that the restaurant warranted the fancy clothes (not like he didn't argue).

"Drop us off here Sebes, I'll call you when to pick us up."Sebes gave a curt nod and stopped in front of the restaurant.

The doors were opened by the staff ever so politely.

"C'mon you two, they're already inside,"Milly said as she walked inside.

Much like the outside, the interior of the restaurant looked just as about as expensive as everything he ever owned. It scared him from touching anything.

"Admiring the scene?"Lelouch asked.

"Out of my element more like."

"With Milly, aren't we always?"He chucked before patting him on his back.

"Yeah, let's go sit."Miles moved ahead of him, Lelouch stood back to survey the room.

Miles followed behind Milly to their seat near the back of the room. Sitting in a large corner was Lloyd and his assistant; he kicked himself for not remembering her name.

"And it looks like the other half of our party has finally arrived, and I see you brought an extra."Lloyd raised his hands in greetings.

"Hello Lloyd, this is Lelouch I messaged you about him."Lelouch gave a quick handshake to the scientist.

"Pleasure is mine, I so seldom find people who find Knightmare construction more than a chore."Miles glanced at Lelouch as they sat down; Milly sat first, then himself, and lastly Lelouch.

"Knightmares are much more tasteful than other military equipment these days. What with the current generation you can hardly find any interesting design outside of the Knights of the Round or whatever the E.U. or Chinese Federation. Knightmares are all form and function, no room for customization."

Miles had to process what was happening. Normally lackadaisical and flippant Lelouch was having a deep discussion…about Knightmares! Where did Lelouch go?

"That's the problem when military contractors these days, fit the mold and never break it! Why that's what my Lancelot was made with the intent of. I'm glad someone realizes it."Lloyd laughed with glee.

"You made the White Knightmare?"Lelouch asked.

"Of course!"Lloyds assistant, jerked her arm at Lloyd making him chuckle, "Well, not entirely." He admitted.

"Tony Stark helped make the user interface and operating system, sorry for not introducing myself my name is Cecile. I work with Lloyd in A.S.E.E.C., our third partner does too but he…"

"Sorry Ms. Cecile, I was held up and-"

Miles turned his head to see who came up. It was a Japanese boy in an orange military garb; his brown hair contrasted his jade green eyes. His focus wasn't on Lloyd and Cecile however. Miles traced his eyes to his side pointed at-

"Suzaku?"Lelouch asked, the surprise in his face

Miles looked back at the two, who in turn kept their faces locked on each other in silence.

"Uh, you know him, Lelouch?"Miles asked it was Suzaku who reacted first.

"Oh, uh no it's…we-"

"Haven't spoken in years, we're old friends."A small smile formed on Suzaku.

"Well, it's good to meet you Suzaku, my name is Miles. Miles Morales."

"Suzaku Kururugi, I work in the Special Division with Lloyd and Cecile here."

"Yes, Kururugi is a great inclusion to the Special Division."Cecile praised.

"What do you do, Suzaku?"Miles asked.

"Oh, I'm an engineer, I worked on the Lancelot. Lloyd found me and offered me a position."

There was a small but noticeable stillness in Suzaku, what for Miles couldn't tell.

"Well with introductions out of the way, how's about we order some food I'm absolutely starving! I hear the Crab Rangoon is to die for."

* * *

"-then Lelouch took a pie to the face! The look on his face was priceless."Miles wiped the tears from his face.

_DANGER_

Miles looked around frantically; his spider-sense was warning him of something…what was it?

"Miles, you okay?"Milly asked.

"I don't know, I just…"

_BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM_

Miles ducked his head, along with everyone else in the restaurant.

"Alright, you dirty Britannian's hands up!"Miles turned around, 6 men and barged into the restaurant with rifles and masks. But the masks weren't very typical of a robber; it was a replica of Zero! Not an exact replica it was shoddy, but the resemblance was enough.

"No one try any heroics and you can all leave this place without a scratch!"

**1 hour later**

"What is the hostage count?"

George Stacey stepped out from the police cruiser with Watanabe. Both of them walked up to the lieutenant in charge.

"Sir! We have an estimated 20 hostages; many of them are royals and the rest are staff. No communications have been sent or received by the terrorists."George let the information hang for a minute, considering his options.

"Get me a speaker horn, after that go get some rest we'll handle the rest of it."The lieutenant gave a quick yes sir and left.

"Any idea's Watanabe?"George asked.

Yuri stood still for a moment, this was a test. "First we should find out what their motives are, opening up a line of dialogue between the terrorists and us will help us determine where to go next."

"Good job private, you are listening after all."The lieutenant came back with the speaker horn and handed it to George.

"This is the Area 11 police department, we have the building surrounded. This will be your first and final warning to put down your guns and surrender."

Inside the terrorists were stealing everything they could off the people. Jewelry, high-end tech, anything that could be sold for a pretty penny was taken and shoved into a bag.

"Ignore them."One of the men said.

Miles sat on the ground with everyone else, they'd already taken his phone so now he was only looking for a good time to cloak and slip out of their view.

"I can't seem to go out anymore without being caught up with terrorists," Milly said quietly.

"Don't worry; eventually they'll have to leave than the police will handle them,"Suzaku said.

Miles couldn't wait on the police to move first, the terrorists could very likely take another hostage for insurance or kill someone. He just needed to find a way to distract them.

He looked around, maybe antagonize them? No, the space was too small they'd much likely shoot him than drag him somewhere out of sight. Rushing them was down, Suzaku was an engineer and Lelouch…well the less said about his physicality the better.

He looked around again and his eyes drifted to the tables, each table had a candle. He looked up at the ceiling, "The sprinkler system." That'll do.

Miles slowly positioned himself behind everyone and pulled out his web-shooters from his pocket just as slow (never leave home without them). He put on the web shooter and aimed it at a nearby candle, with a _thwip_ the candle quickly landed in his hand.

No one seemed to notice, all their attention was focused on the terrorists.

Miles positioned himself near a smoke detector; enough smoke from the candle would be able to trick the sprinklers to rain down on everyone. He tossed it into the air and shot a web glob at it to make it stay. Now was just a matter of waiting.

With a loud and sharp _klang_ the valves burst open soaking everyone. The terrorists were too stunned to notice Miles cloak and run to the nearest corner.

' _Great, now I ruined my tux.'_ Miles mused as he took off his tuxedo and changed into his costume, which surprisingly fit under it all.

"What the hell?!"One of the terrorists yelled.

Suzaku realized the opening this was and charged the nearest terrorist, a quick punch to the face was enough to make him fall. He kicked away the rifle from his unconscious body and ran up to the next. This one however had enough time to put the gun in between them.

"Traitor, you'd rather live under these Britannians than fight for your country!?"The terrorist asked.

"Nothing will be solved with violence and terrorism; you'll only make them hate us more!"Suzaku pushed the terrorist back but could distinctly hear the sound of a rifle raised behind him.

"Too bad, now die traitor!"The terrorist behind him aimed his rifle to kill Suzaku.

"Not so fast boys, save some for me."A thick wire shot to the gun and yanked it out of his hand.

The source showed none other than Spider-Man.

"It's Spider-Man, shoot him!"Miles jumped over the gun fire and landed on the terrorist behind Kururugi.

Suzaku punched the terrorist in front of him, the aforementioned terrorist punched back to little success.

Behind him, Miles continued to dance with the rest of the terrorists making quick work of them.

"C'mon guys, is that all you got? My Grandma can aim better than you can!"Miles taunted again as the terrorist shots missed.

He shot a dozen web globs at the last three gunmen. Their hands were at too an awkward an angle to properly shoot him.

"Sad to say I'm the fast cowboy this side of Area 11."The last three terrorists could only look at him with pleading eyes as he quick kicked them all on the ground.

Behind him, Suzaku finished the last terrorist and put him on the ground.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for your night at this fine establishment. Please stay seated while I make sure the cops outside don't accidentally shoot you."

Before anyone could object Miles made his way to the front entrance. He turned invisible to make sure the cops didn't accidentally shoot him either. A quick web-zip to a nearby light pole gave him the comfortable distance to talk.

"Hey cops, over here!"

The entirety of the police force there turned their eyes to him.

"The terrorists are down, you're free to enter. You're welcome by the way."A wave of clicks followed as every gun that was pointed at the door to the restaurant pointed at him.

"Okay, maybe you don't have to thank me. Maybe an IOU?"Miles sheepishly asked.

"Spider-Man, put your hands up you are being arrested!"The threatening voice of a man using a speaker horn yelled.

"Um, no thanks! I appreciate the offer but I think you guys got enough criminals. Well…see ya!"Before they could respond Miles went invisible.

"Damn him,"George uttered.

"At least he saved us the problem of those terrorists,"Yuri said.

"Not now Watanabe,"George grumbled.

* * *

"Again I'm so sorry for choosing this restaurant,"Lloyd said.

"It's not your fault."Milly laughed it off; honestly, she was getting tired of being in hostage situations.

Lelouch stood looking at the situation around him, a quick call to Ohgi revealed some less than stellar information. Copycats using the name of Zero for petty crime, of course, this would happen.

"Lelouch?"His attention was turned to Suzaku who had just gotten from talking with the police.

"How are you holding up?"Lelouch asked.

"Funny, I was gonna ask the same thing. I'm glad to see you're safe, after the last time we met…I didn't know if I'd see you again."

"That reminds me, Milly told me you talked to her about looking for me. How did you know?"

"Oh, that? Well, when I couldn't find you after Shinjuku I memorized what you were wearing it was obviously a uniform so if I could find it I could find you. It just so happened that Milly came with her uniform on when we met. So when I saw her outfit I put two and two together…"

"You recognized the school's symbol."Lelouch realized.

"It was only a matter of if you still went by Lelouch. We hardly had any time to talk back in the ghettos. So is Nunnally…?"

"She lives with me and goes to school in the high school portion of the academy. You should come by sometime and see her, she 'd love to know you're okay."

"Yeah, that sounds great."

"Where is Miles?"Lloyd asked, looking around trying to find him.

"Over here!"Miles walked from behind them with some adhesives on his arm.

"I got a few scrapes trying to get out, but I'm okay."

"Great, it'd be a shame if you died so young."

"Um, thanks?"

"While tonight has been nothing short of intense I wanted to actually give you something Miles. I'm sure you'd appreciate it."Lloyd pulled out a card from his breast pocket and handed it to Miles.

"Consider it an IOU whenever you hit the big time."

Miles looked down at the name of the card. "Tony Stark!?"

**Long chapter, sorry it took so long but I had a bit of a writing slump. Hope you enjoy.**


	12. Stage: 8-1: Investigations

**Sorry, I haven't updated much, but I'm back and better than ever with a new laptop. So, let's get to the next chapter.**

Weightlessness was very seldom a feeling Euphemia truly experienced. Sure, being underwater had a similar effect. But there was still a thought in the back of her mind that knew that it wasn't the same.

When Euphemia fell from the Kawaguchi Hotel, she knew exactly what being weightless felt like.

The roaring wind in her ear deafened her from her surrounding, it was very serene.

"Euphemia do you hear me?" The stern voice of her sister woke her from her daydream.

She sat in the Government Bureau with the rest of the politicians with her sister, Darlton, and Guilford.

"Oh, sorry Viceroy, I did not hear you." For a brief second, Cornelia's face gave a concerned look before she went over the battle plans for the Narita Mountains next week.

Truly, Euphemia had been quiet more than usual since Kawaguchi. A near-death experience does that to a person. She just couldn't get that moment out of her head. Her falling to her death, and Spider-Man reaching out to her.

"The Japanese Liberation Front _will_ be driven out and destroyed, I don't want any slacking in this operation. It's about time Area 11 was neutered." Everyone gave their 'yes ma'ams before walking off.

Euphemia stood as well to leave before a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Cornelia looking down at her with that look of concern she always had.

"Spill it, why have you been so quiet lately?" Euphemia sighed, knowing better than to lie to her sister. She wasn't particularly good at it, not like Schneizel, or Lelouch. They truly were masters at it, she couldn't hold a lie if her life depended on it.

"I keep thinking about Kawaguchi, the fall really. Do you dwell on near-death experiences, sister?" Cornelia exhaled and leaned on the table, trying to think of the best way to put it.

"At first, after I had graduated from Officer School, I was put in charge of a squad to show my strength in battle. It was during the invasion of Area 10 that I had my first battle, it was a long 3 years and by the end of it I had lost count how many times I nearly died. This isn't a feeling I want for you; you're supposed to be safe ruling an area. I failed you back at Kawaguchi, I don't want to see that ever happen again."

"So, you just get used to it?"

"Unfortunately, but that doesn't have to be for you. Choose a knight, they will live to protect you and will never let this happen again. I need an answer by the end of the month. You already have the list of candidates I gave you. I love you; Euphie and I don't want to see you like this again." Cornelia bent down and gave her a kiss on her forehead before she started to walk out.

"What about Spider-Man? What are you going to do about him?" Euphemia asked the question was on her mind.

Cornelia sighed, "I can't reward him, he's a vigilante he disgraces the very ideal of Britannia. The police want to arrest him and if I get in their way, I'd have more trouble than it's worth. He saved your life so I'm content with letting him go until he becomes a problem. Goodbye Euphie." Cornelia walked out the door leaving her alone.

* * *

"So, what do we know about this Black King?" Miles asked.

"He has a long list of subordinates; the lower rungs of his drug operation only hear from their direct bosses and repeat until it reaches the Black King. I've been trying to bust him since he came onto the scene 4 years ago. But he keeps getting away, slipping out of my hands. With you, I think we have a better chance to stop his refrain operation." The detective talked over the phone while Miles swung through Area 11.

"Alright, I'm coming up on the distribution sight now I'll call you back when I'm done." Miles hung up and looked down at the inconspicuous building below him.

It was a common drug store, like any you'd see in the city. But what wasn't normal was the deed to the building. It was owned by a man named John Willard; a quick search would reveal just enough to pull someone away from diving further. But the Detective had gone deeper, there was no John Willard. Mix that with the frequent and suspicious deliveries this was a prime candidate for a distribution center for refrain and other drugs.

Miles perched himself above a light post in camouflage, a van had just stopped in the front of the store.

"What do we have here?" Miles whispered to himself.

Wordlessly two men exited the van, a quick saw the back of the van open. Three more men hopped out of the back with unlabeled boxes and took them inside.

"Guess I'm following." Miles leaped from the light post on to the top of the ceiling tailing the cargo.

* * *

Steve Rogers had never been to Japan; in his day the small nation closed its borders to everyone else. He had to say, the countryside was beautiful.

"Hey, move it!" Steve looked behind him to see an irate man in a business suit tapping his toes impatiently.

Steve side stepped the man to make room for him on the train. As the man moved passed him, he grumbled on about military muscle heads. The irony made Steve silently chuckle.

It took some time to score passage to Japan, but he managed to stow away on a ship. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep he's had but considering the beds that were made back then, the cargo hold wasn't that bad.

It took an hour before the train stopped at a station within the city. He had seen the landscape turn from old to new; it gave him a history of the nation without any history books. Outside the settlements, the old houses and historical monuments remained degraded not yet dealt with. As their train came into the city, he could see the destruction the war had on Japan. The destroyed ghettos filled with Japanese families who are beaten down every day. Pass the ghettos was the jewel of Area 11, towers lined the sky, streets bustled with activity, without context this would be a eutopia. But the price paid to get here was too high, the destruction of a nation's identity and the discrimination of its people was a cost Steve felt needed correcting.

Walking the streets no one batted an eye at him. Of course, why would they, he looked as Brittanian as they came.

He walked about the settlement, getting a sense of the geography. By the time the sun was starting to set Steve had decided to make his way to the ghettos. As he watched the skyline full of destroyed buildings, he knew that if there was one way to join the Black Knights and it was in there.

* * *

"So Suzaku, what do you do in the military?"

Suzaku turned to Nunnally, she had talked his ear off since he arrived. He had no problem with it, they haven't been together in eight years.

"I work as an engineer under Lloyd and Miss Cecile. I'm as far away from danger as I can be." The lie hurt, he hated lying. But he didn't want to hurt their feelings or their trust. What would Lelouch say if he knew he was piloting a Knigtmare?! A white lie, one that no one would miss.

"Is Lloyd nice to you?" Nunnally asked.

"He can work me hard sometimes, but he knows it's because I'm good at the job. I think he actually likes me." It was hard to tell if Lloyd cared for Suzaku more because of their friendship or because of how good of a pilot he was. For his sake, he imagined it was the former.

"You say you're an engineer, what do you fix?" Lelouch asked.

"Uh, Knightmares mostly. Sometimes we get a tank, but that's on a rare occasion…" As Suzaku talked more about his job Lelouch's phone rang, the letter 'O' was all that told him who it came from.

"Sorry, but I have a phone call to take, feel free to get seconds from the kitchen. I made more than enough to feed your large appetite." Lelouch laughed at Suzaku's expense as he walked into the hallway.

Lelouch put more distance between him and the door before he answered his phone. He wondered what it was about, Ohgi didn't usually call him unless it was important.

"This is Zero." Lelouch answered.

"Zero, uh, I think we have a small problem. Or maybe a big one it's hard to tell right now." Ohgi's voice didn't tell him it was very immediate, and they weren't under attack so he could list off those two for now.

"What is it?"

"My guys around the ghettos have been reporting a Brittanian walking around the ghettos. He keeps saying he wants to meet with the Black Knights. The conversation usually ends up with my friends on the ground. Not dead, just beat up."

"Was he wearing a uniform?"

"No, nothing more than a regular person would wear. The guy is strong, almost a head taller than me. We haven't spotted any military, but we aren't ruling it out…not after Saitama."

This was a peculiar situation, who would be so bold to go looking for the Black Knights in the ghettos? Was he trying to kill him? Or maybe…

"Send a messenger to meet at a location, sweep the area before you bring him. I'll be there." He closed the phone and walked back into the dining room.

"Hey Lelouch, everything okay?" Suzaku asked.

"Yeah, I got to head out, however." Lelouch picked up his plate and threw the contents in the trash.

"You're leaving? What's so important to leave at 11:30?" Suzaku asked.

"He's probably gambling again?" Nunnally giggled.

"You gamble?" Suzaku asked astounded.

"Just on the side, my opponent just came into Area 11 and is wanting a match. Ms. Sayako, do you mind putting Nunnally to bed tonight?" Sayako gave a quick nod of her head and agreed.

"Miss Cecile lent me her car; do you want me to drive you there?" Suzaku asked.

"No thanks, I'll take the trains."

* * *

"Has he done anything?" Zero asked as he approached Ohgi.

"He's sat and waited the entire time, occasionally asking for updates. We've only told him you'll hear him out."

The two stood and watched from a room high above from the man wanting to talk to Zero.

"We set up this place so you can talk to him without being in the same room, just say the word and we'll listen." Zero gave a quick nod before taking the microphone handed to him.

"What is your name?" The man jerked his head around trying to pinpoint the source.

"Is this Zero?" The man asked.

"It is." Best to keep answers brief.

"My name is Steve Rogers; I heard your message from a few weeks ago. I came to enlist; I apologize for wounding the Japanese who tried to stop me. In my defense, they attacked me first." With his motives clear, it was only a matter of deducing his plans. Was he a radical? Or was he just a spy from Cornelia.

"You burst into the ghettos, knocked out my men, and ask to be in the Black Knights. That's a very aloof way of joining."

"I had no other way, what better way to get your attention than by walking into the ghettos. I hear the Japanese love you, in my experience word travels fast. I planned on that word getting to you, I see I was right." He was smart, Lelouch would give him that.

"And why would you want to join up with me? Usually, there's something someone wants when joining the Black Knights. But you're Britannian, what would you want from joining us?"

"I believe everyone has a right to life, people should decide for themselves how to live their lives, that no one can dominate another. Freedom and democracy, that is what I fight for." So, he's a radical.

"He's telling the truth." Lelouch turned around to see C.C., dressed in her pure white restraint clothes.

"Wait, what-how did you…!?" Ohgi went to pull his gun before Zero stopped him.

"There is no need, she is an accomplice of mine. You say he's telling the truth, how?" Zero asked.

"His name is Steve Rogers; his mother was Sarah Rogers. I met him a long time ago, the only question is how he's still alive. He's a good soldier, a super-soldier if you will. It would be a good idea to recruit him."

"Will he kill me?" Zero asked.

"Will he? Doubtful, he's as loyal as a dog. Can he? Yes, and not take a scratch." Zero weighed the options, C.C. wouldn't lie to him. They're partner, she wouldn't jeopardize it over this man.

"Come with me." Zero walked out of the room with C.C. in tow.

**Sorry for the shorter chapter, my old laptop has my notes for this chapter and isn't turning on so this is a little filler until I can get those files uploaded. Anyway, happy belated New Year.**


	13. Stage 8-2: Sunflower

**I'm testing out a new line break so when you see 'x-x' just know it doesn't mean anything. Why? Because I've learned that line breaks don't appear on mobile and want to make sure it translates. If it doesn't work, I'll see what else works.**

"Alright so what is the lesson here, fellas?"

Don't do crime if you can't do the time." The chorus of thugs speaking in unison reverberated through the small building.

"Good! Now you guys behave until the cops come…" Sirens blared outside, the sound of doors opening and guns clicking surrounded the store.

"Spider-Man, we have you surrounded come out with your hands up!" Miles sighed.

"Well at least they'll pick you guys up, I got what I need."

Outside, the police aimed down at the small store. Anonymous tips called in an hour ago with sounds of gun fire. George had called a third of the police force to arrest Spider-Man, he wasn't going to get away this time.

"Hey guys!" George looked up to the nearby building to see Spider-Man perched on the ledge.

"Freeze!" Every gun turned to point at him.

"Y'know, cops usually arrest the _bad guys_. Not the good guy, feel free to get the thugs inside, see ya!" Miles dived from the building and swung away.

"Kowalski! Stay behind and get arrest the men in the building, everyone else after Spider-Man!" George rushed back into his cruiser and drove after Spider-Man.

Miles lead the police around for a few minutes before he had gotten a call, it was from the Detective.

"Spider-Man here!" Miles said swinging from building to building.

"I know you have the ability to cloak, lose the police and meet me at the docks." The call ended abruptly; did he hang up on him?

"Jeez, rude much?" Miles muttered before looking at his predicament.

He had a ton of police following him, and he could distinctly hear a helicopter in the distance.

"Well it's been fun, but I gotta run!" He shouted as her jerked his body towards an alley.

Every cop car skidded to a stop, George himself was rear-ended by another cruiser before jumping out of the car and running into the alley after Spider-Man.

He scanned the small alley, looking up and down with his issued pistol. The reality was, Spider-Man had gotten the slip on him again. "Damn it!" George punted a small can of soda before walking back to his cops. This wasn't over by a long shot.

x-x

The warehouse the Detective had so lovingly called their meet up was dank and smelled of rotten fish. It made Miles gag a bit when he opened the skylight and jumped in.

"What did you learn?" The Detective appeared from the shadows; had he been standing there all this time?

"Well your guess was right, that small store was just a front for refrain distribution. Not only that, I got the name of their supervisor. It's not the Black King, but it's a lead. Guy's name is William Derrickson." The Detective nodded his head, pleased.

"Good, I'll dig up what I can on this person. Be ready to spring to action, if we're do this right, we might just learn the location of the Black King."

x-x

"They call themselves the Knights of Zero, a group dedicated to fighting back against Britannia. I'm sorry I didn't relay this earlier; I didn't know they would do something like that. Forgive me." Ohgi bowed.

Lelouch pondered on this, copycats weren't an unexpected development. But this soon? Perhaps they were from the JLF to sabotage his name? Or were they already prepared, only needing a leader (icon?) to fight in the name of?

"The Black Knights are a force of justice, if we allow this to continue, we will lose our credibility. We will lose what we have fought for. Ohgi, I want you to find me a name, anything to get us a lead on where this group is coming from." Ohgi shook his head.

"Aren't we going too far? These guys only want to help, and it's not like we aren't fighting the same enemy." Tamaki argued.

"Wrong!" Zero stood up from his seat. "Their targets are the innocent, they do not care about justice, only revenge. I made the Black Knights to combat those with power who prey on the weak! If we turn a blind eye to the Japanese than we aren't evoking change, we are simply trading one master for another!" The ramifications of his actions as Zero are far reaching. Not just to the rest of the world…but to his friends…to Nunnally.

"They've already shown that they are not above their pettiness, we will dismantle this organization and show the world we stand by our convictions." The room fell silent, they didn't say it, but they all had some resignation.

"We understand, Zero." Not surprisingly it was Kallen who spoke up first, followed by the rest.

"Good, we will deal with this later. For now, we must discuss our next operation, the Narita Mountains…"

x-x

"This is pretty far away, are you sure we won't get into any trouble?" Shirley asked.

When she agreed to walk with Miles, she didn't expect to walk into the ghettos.

"Trust me, I went here a few weeks back. The Japanese won't give us trouble." Miles said.

Shirley was starting to regret her plan to make Lelouch jealous. Firstly, it had been weeks before Miles took her up on her offer, secondly Lelouch hardly paid attention when the two of them left together! Ugh that bone-headed lazy…MORON! Sometimes she wondered if Lelouch looked at her at all.

"So, what's the process here?" Shirley asked as the two dipped into an alley.

"Process? I guess just spray. Here, try it." Miles reached from his bag and tossed her a spray bottle.

"Just spray?" Shirley asked, inspecting the bottle. It rattled when she shook it – was that a good thing? – and noticed the label. It was a bright yellow.

"Yeah, don't worry these are easy to wash down with water so if you mess up it's not like it's ruined." Miles himself pulled out two bottles – each in both hands – and starting spraying. To her it looked like a couple of blotches of colors, but she was no expert.

"What should I make?" She asked, Miles looked down from his blotches.

"I don't know, what do you want to make?" Miles set down his spray cans and stood beside her.

Shirley shrugged, "I don't know either, I'm not really good at drawing. I tried to make something like what I saw you making but it all came out as paper in my trash."

"Well, let's not start complex. We want to start small. How about…" Miles looked at the color and thought of the first thing that correlated with yellow, "…a sunflower?" Miles dug through his bag and found a black and brown can.

"A sunflower? I guess that's simple." She raised her hand and started spraying left and right.

"Woah slow down there, you wanna take it slow. Make sure the paint sticks, here lemme show you." Miles grabbed her hand and slowly guided it.

Slowly the petals of a sunflower started to form, it was small, but it was a start. "Good, now let's get some black around the edges to make it stand out." For the next hour Shirley made a flower, it was a nice sunflower.

x-x

"The Black Knights?"

"Yes, m'lord, they are headed by a masked-man by the name of Zero. We are currently investigating possible identities, but it will take time. After the Second Pacific War, however, the Japanese database of its citizens have been lost. We have no clear way of identifying Zero, however are agents in Japan are diligent. We'll find out the man behind the mask." The grunt messenger relayed the information.

"Good, see that it's done." The Mandarin shut his phone.

"Mr. Khan?"

Eugene looked up from his chair, a dark-skinned man in military attire approached him with intent. "James Rhodes, I presume?" Eugene stood up and stuck his hand out to shake.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Khan, I know it was on short notice. Tony would be here but…" James drifted off.

"I've read the news. Iron Man, that's the name he's been gifted by the people? Tell me, is he a military asset now? I distinctly remember he made weapons for the Britannian military." Eugene was curious what Britannia thought of their new resident hero, but if precedent was to be called than it wouldn't end well.

"Tony is…complicated. But I've said enough. Follow me, I'll bring you to your hotel." Rhodes picked up his luggage and walked towards the exit.

"What about Stark? I'd like to meet with him as soon as possible. I'd like to discuss the terms of our agreement. More importantly, how he breached it." Just like the Britannian military, he too had been left to dry without the technology and materials Starks company had provided them.

It was now a logistics problem, until they could figure a way to find a new wealth of resources the Tong were limiting expenditures as much as possible. Eugene could only do so much outside his role as the Mandarin.

But then Tony Stark had to reveal his newest creation, the Iron Man. It was a stunning piece of ingenuity. A compact Knightmare, the size of a man that flies, not lack in firepower. Whether Stark realized it or not he had just created the next arms race to recreate the Iron Man. And Eugene was eager to see it.

x-x

"Now that, is a sunflower." Miles and Shirley stepped back admiring their work.

It was a simple sunflower, but maybe it was its simplicity that made it work well. Surrounded by the almost derelict concrete jungle was this lone bright sunflower…Maybe it meant something, maybe Miles is bad at analogy.

"This is some Banksy stuff." Miles said.

"It does look pretty." In Miles' pocket, his phone rang. As he picked it up, he saw it was a text from an unknown number.

"The Detective." Miles muttered, he pushed the phone back in his pocket, "Alright Shirley, I gotta go. You want me to walk you home?" Shirley appreciated her work one more time before agreeing.

As they packed up their things Miles could hear footsteps from the front of the alley.

"Oi, what do we have here?!" Three men walked toward them.

"Oh, don't mind us. We're just leaving." Miles said.

"Britannians, just leaving? Now I know this isn't right, does that sound right to you?" He asked his friends, neither agreed.

"Look, I know what you're thinking. But I'm a regular, just ask Nagata down at the ramen shop, he can vouch for me." Miles didn't feel like getting into a fight with Shirley with him. There was no need to cause a scene.

"Do we look like Nagata to you?" The three men inched forward. If he was getting into a fight, he didn't want to get Shirley caught in it.

"Shirley…" Behind him she moved back a few paces holding onto his bag.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." The voice of another man resonated from the end of the alley.

He stood tall, easily another head taller than Miles and Shirley. With his shoulders broad, and his arms finely tuned, he looked like a Britannian soldier. Maybe a soldier who spent a few more hours in the gym to get his physique that way.

"Oi, another Britannian?" The Japanese men turned to face the third party.

"I'm not…look, leave the kids alone. They haven't hurt you," The man looked at the sunflower on the wall, "In fact I'd say they didn't mean to cause you trouble."

"Always like Britannians to tell us how to feel. How about we teach you a few…" It was over faster than even Miles could perceive (and he could see things pretty fast). All three men were on the ground with the wind knocked out of them.

"You kids should get out of here, and probably shouldn't come back again." The man said. As Miles got closer, he could make out his face. His jaw line was strong, his eyes had that steely look to them, a friendly face but one that could turn serious in the drop of a second.

"Uh, thanks…" Picking up on the question the man answered.

"My name is Steve."

"Thanks, Steve. Man, Nagata isn't gonna appreciate some random guy knocking out a bunch of Japanese." Miles and Shirley walked out to the edge of the alley.

"Nagata?" He asked.

"Yeah, he owns the Ramen shop a ways down. I get food from him sometimes, don't know how I'm gonna explain this. But thanks, I didn't really feel like getting into a fight over a sunflower." Miles looked back at it, it was staying up nicely.

"Thank you, sir. We won't come back again." Shirley said profusely.

"You got nice art kid; next time put it somewhere someone won't find it. A little tip from one artist to another." Steve game a small smirk.

"Yeah, not my usual place. We should get going Shirley, let's go." Shirley gave thanks one last time before the two went off.

Which left Steve to the three men on the ground.

x-x

"I've decided to hear you out, Mr. Rogers." Zero opened the door to the room, behind him C.C. lurked.

"That's not a yes." Steve read in between the lines.

"My partner believes you're a great asset, but I have doubt." C.C. moved from behind him, giving Steve a good look at her.

"Miss C.C.?" Steve looked shocked; he didn't believe his eyes.

"Rogers, I didn't expect to see you here."

"How? It's been…I don't even…" He tried to form a cohesive sentence but seeing C.C. had him fumbling at the mouth.

"As you can see, I've moved on, Washington did what he could but unfortunately it wasn't enough. I'm vouching for you, listen to Zero and you could join the Black Knights." Lelouch noted the potential history between them. And Washington? He'd have to ask later.

"I ask only for results, if you can give me that you can call yourself a Black Knight. For now, I have a mission for you. If you are willing to accept." Steve stood straight, like the soldier he was.

"If Miss C.C. has put her faith into you, I have no doubt. What is the mission?"

"The Black Knights stand for justice, no one shall prey upon the weak. But lately, we've had a string of copycats, those who only work for themselves and use the Black Knights name in vain. We plan to denounce these acts, but we need to act ahead of this. I want to know where the orders are coming from. Who set up the Knights of Zero, and where are they located? Find these frauds and bring them to me. You will have access to our information networks to do so. Do you accept?" Zero asked, placing his hand out.

"I do." Steve said without hesitation, moving to meet it.

x-x

Todoroki woke up to a splitting headache and a soar face. He tried to move but his arms and legs were tied. Where was he?

"Todoroki Hideo, I've been looking for you." In front of him was that Britannian who knocked him out.

"Where, where am I?!" He demanded.

"Somewhere safe, your friends won't save you. The Knights of Zero won't find you here." How did he know!?

"Some one would like to have a word with you." The door behind the Britannian opened up, the mask was indisputable, it was Zero.

"Zero, help me, help me like you help Japan!" He pleaded.

"You are wrong, I do not help Japan. I help the weak, you have voided that claim after your group attacked a room full of helpless Britannians and stole from them claiming it was for the cause. In actuality it was for your own selfish goals. Leave us, Rogers, I have some questions to ask." Rogers nodded and left the room, leaving Zero alone.

"Now, tell me about the Knights of Zero." A fold in his mask opened, and Zero's violet eyes gazed into his soul for the last time.

**A bit shorter than usual but I was having a hard time finishing this. Hoped you enjoyed.**


	14. Stage 8-5: A Taste of Things to Come

**I think it's time to progress the main plot now, it's time for Narita.**

_**Hi-TV Broadcast center** _

Diethard was a man who had little regrets, he spent his life looking for the next story. So, when he "slipped" information to the Black Knights he was sure it would bear fruit. But if there was one thing he regretted; it was speaking to the Pure bloods. So arrogant and up front, they had no sense of subtlety to them.

"We have a lead." The words caught his attention, Villetta Nu was a no-nonsense woman, so he was sure she was serious.

"Two disgraced soldiers have a lead, how am I not surprised?" It was a tale as old as time, the disgraced searching for whatever would bring them redemption in the eyes of their lords. But if it was the Pure bloods who were chasing this redemption, he'd have to hear it.

"Do you know of Ashford Academy? We believe one of their male students are aiding Zero, we want to investigate them. Seeing as Zero has stuck you in a less than suitable position for someone of your talents…" Jeremiah let it hang there, the proposal was not lost on Diethard, however he wasn't interested to begin with.

"What's stopping you from investigating yourself?" He had a sneaking suspicion; contacts here and there had informed him of a big military operation.

"Villetta and I will be stationed in the Narita mountains, we'll be unable to conduct the investigation ourselves." Bingo.

"Narita you say, how coincidental." In one hand Diethard searched for the Ashford Academy on the net. The school was the first hit, as expected.

"And why is that?" Villetta asked.

"Oh, just rumors." He smirked.

"Rumors? What kind of rumors?"

"The kind that bite back."

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

"So, we're here preparing for Prom, and Lelouch suddenly has a business trip to go on?" Miles asked as he filled out the umpteenth paperwork.

"I know right!? What does that guy got going on in his life that he couldn't at least bring me?" Rivalz flopped in his chair with an exasperated sigh.

"Lelouch's business is his own, if he wanted to bring someone along, he would have asked." Shirley berated Rivalz.

"So, he didn't ask you along either?" Rivalz gave a small mischievous smirk while Shirley fumed.

"Why would he?" Miles asked. Rivalz said nothing but looked down solemnly and patted his back.

"What?" Miles asked again, oblivious to what wasn't being said.

"Never change Miles." Milly said from the other side of the table.

"Hey Nina, you got those sponsors I asked for?" Rivalz asked, he turned to Nina who was sitting in her own corner. She wasn't listening, instead focusing on her computer or rather staring pass her computer.

"Nina, hey Nina!" Rivalz walked up to her, with a quick jolt whatever was on Nina's computer went away.

"Oh Rivalz, I'm sorry I didn't hear you." She apologized but it didn't sound like she was sorry.

"Uh, yeah, say did you get those sponsors for the prom?" Nina nodded and handed him a small stack of papers.

"These contain all the delivery dates for our supplies and caterers." Rivalz gave his thanks before running off to read it.

Nina turned back to her computer, except her thoughts did turn with her. They've been filled with none other than Euphemia Li Britannia, the beautiful princess that saved her from those Elevens. In her mind she was determined to meet the princess.

x-x

_**Black Knights Warehouse** _

"You don't want me to go sir?" Steve asked as the rest of the Black Knights packed and left the warehouse.

"Your skills as a soldier is commendable, but I need you here to continue investigating the Knights of Zero. The men we captured didn't know as much as we lead to believe, but we did get some information from them. I've set some targets for you to investigate while we leave for Narita, by this time tomorrow we should return. Can I count on you to finish this mission?" Zero asked.

"Yes sir." Steve gave a salute as started to head out.

"One more thing Captain." Steve turned around, in Zero's hand was a briefcase.

"Yes sir?"

"Every soldier needs a uniform, consider this yours." Zero extended the briefcase to Steve.

Steve grabbed it and opened it. It was a dark navy combat suit, with a silver star and stripes across the chest. Steve looked back up to Zero, a look of surprise on his face.

"C.C. told me you used to have a very…patriotic outfit during your time in Washingtons Rebellion. I had a contact of mine create something more in line with the Black Knights, I hope it is satisfactory." Steve nodded his head in thanks and left to do his mission.

With Rogers busy with the Knights of Zero, Lelouch focused his attention on the Narita mission. He would make a miracle happen.

x-x

_**Slums of Area 11** _

A blaring alarm was not the choice Yuriko Watanabe preferred after waking up from a long night's work. But it was the best she could do with what she had. She cursed under her breath as she slammed the button, stopping the alarm. As she woke up from her bed, she took a groggy look at herself and prepared for her morning routine.

Getting up out of her old bed, Yuriko dragged herself to her sink and started cleaning up. Straightening her hair, cleaning her face, and generally looking presentable in the office. Next came her uniform, not very hard to put on. As she finished getting dressed, Yuriko prepared for her last task before leaving. Her mother.

As she entered the living room, she could already see her mother in her rocking chair watching the TV. Walking around to the small island that was considered a kitchen, she glanced at her mother. Her gaze was focused on the TV, a perpetual frown on her face probably since she woke up. Yuriko didn't try to talk to her, she poured herself a glass of juice and went to leave.

Without a word spoken to each other Yuriko left the building and to her job.

Walking the streets of what used to be Japan, Yuriko gained the distasteful eyes of those she considered her people. The men and women of Japan looked on her with disdain, as if she had committed a great offense to them. Which in their eyes she did. But Yuriko learned to live with it, she's lived it with for a long time.

She walked for another 15 minutes before she made it out of the slums, and as she walked into Area 11-proper, she was met again with eyes of those who thought they were her superior. The eyes of Britannians were cold, impersonal, not the hot wrath of the Japanese. She preferred these strangers to the those of her fellow countrymen.

Pass all the people, Yuriko finally made it to the parking lot. In the back corner was her cruiser, bare of any marks or scars. She learned last year never to park it in the slums, that cost her plenty from her paycheck. She hopped into her car, paid the meter, and left to the police station where she could do her job.

x-x

_**Police Station** _

"Watanabe, you're late." Captain Stacy said as she entered the police station.

"Sorry sir, got stuck in traffic." Yuri apologized as she sat down at her desk.

George gave her a disapproving stare, unlike the others his wasn't one of disgust - more a father lecturing their child. She understood why, it was his recommendation that lead her to become an officer, and any marks against her would be shared to him.

"Watanabe, come to my office." George said.

The two walked their way through the office, passing by numerous officers. Some looked with that common disgust in their eyes, others sneering hoping she'd probably be fired already.

As the two entered his office, George sat in his chair and pulled out a picture frame and handed it to her, it was her father.

"Sir?" Yuri asked.

"I'm sure you're well aware that there has been plenty of pushback against your enrollment since I oversaw your training in basic. Thankfully this isn't you being fired, but powers outside my reach want your father removed from the wall. I'm sorry Yuri, there wasn't much I could do." Yuri thumbed the photo of her father.

Kenneth Watanabe was a police officer during the second Pacific War that lead to the designation of Japan as Area 11. He died in the conflict. A wall in the precinct was dedicated to those officers who died in the war, as long as they were Britannian that is.

"Thank you, sir." Yuri said.

"Your father was a good man, it's a disgrace that inside politics have turned this way. Ironic, because that's why he left the homeland to work here. It seems he was never able to escape it. I remember back in the day, he was always sick of the rules that stopped him from helping people back in the homeland." George remarked, remembering the old days.

"Red tape usually does that, sir." Yuri agreed.

"I suppose so. You're dismissed Yuri. I have to make some calls." Yuri nodded as she left the office.

George sighed and picked up the phone and made a call, "Hello, it's Captain Stacy. Yes, I'm calling for Mr. Manfredi."

x-x

_**Narita Mountains** _

The Narita Mountains are usually a peaceful place to be, unfortunately now it had become a landslide of death. The approaching Britannian army had been brigaded with a landslide the likes of which were unforeseen. It was a perfect time to strike. Unfortunately for Euphemia she could only stand and watch as the Black Knights swooped from nowhere to take control of the battle.

"Sub-Viceroy Euphemia I beseech you, send in the G1 to support Viceroy Cornelia!"

"If we move, we'll open innocent civilians and wounded soldiers in our field hospital, I can't just leave them to die!"

Euphemia was at a crossroads, an ultimatum that questioned the very essence of her morality. It was the lives of her sister and army…or the lives of the innocent that she was sworn to protect as Viceroy. She was out of her depth, paralyzed at the moment of decision.

"Sub-Viceroy you must move the G1! Commander Guilford is completely pinned down, he cannot reach Viceroy Cornelia! She will die if we don't intervene!"

"Cornelia adamantly said not to move the G1, that was her orders! I…I just can't!" Euphemia's grip on the console tightened, she couldn't decide.

"Excuuuse me! ASEEC crew reporting in!" The console view switched from the battle map to a odd man in a lab coat.

"Damn irregulars, your orders were to keep silent and observe!"

"Normally we would, but it seems that your current situation is…" A woman appeared on camera trying to be diplomatic.

"It's rather boring." The odd man admitted.

"Sub-Viceroy Euphemia, I beseech you, please order us into battle." Her attention was drawn away from the other two.

It was a boy, probably only 18. But it wasn't his age that surprised him, the number of 18-year-old boys that joined the army was large, it was his very being. He was an Eleven, an honorary Britannian most likely, piloting a Knightmare of all things!

"Please Sub-Viceroy, the Lancelot can save Princess Cornelia." The demeanor of the boy was calm, he was assured of his abilities.

She remembered the Lancelot from the Kawaguchi hotel, mission reports claimed it was able to do bypass the JLF's frontline to secure a victory. This was that very same pilot.

"…think one unit can change the tide of the battle with only an Eleven pilot?"

"Well it really hurt to try now would it? As far as I see you need some help, and as it's only one Knightmare, if we lose you wouldn't be seen badly." The choice was now clear to Euphemia.

"Pilot of the Lancelot, do you promise with your life to save my sister?" Euphemia asked.

"I promise, with my life." The Eleven's face stayed confident.

"Then you have my permission."

x-x

Cornelia was on her last leg, almost literally. Her Knightmare was in critical condition, her weapons gone, and surrounded by enemy combatant. The Black Knights had planned to capture her, she wouldn't let that happen. She was prepared for this situation ever since she joined the army. This looked like this was it.

"Guilford, my knight. You and Darlton have to protect Euphie." She whispered into her radio.

"Princess please, we're making our way to you!"

"I won't let them take me; I will never surrender. Please, take care of Euphie in my stead. That is my last order to you, goodbye Guilford." Before Guilford could protest, Cornelia ignored her radio, ready to face death.

Cornelia gripped the handles of her controls and prepared to charge.

"Goodbye sweet Euphie." She whispered; she went full throttle.

A section of the rockslide blew up in front of her, from the cloud of dust illuminated the steely-white and gold frame of the ASEEC's Lancelot Knightmare.

"Viceroy are you alright?!" The voice of the Eleven pilot reached her.

"Special corps?! But who…Euphie…" Only Euphemia was able to permit special units, she'd have to thank her later.

Behind the Lancelot, the red Knightmare approached them, it was going to attack. "You take out that thing, I'll take out Zero." She commanded.

"Yes ma'am!" Behind her, the two Knightmares engaged in combat and in front of her were three other Knightmares.

Cornelia fired her slash harkens at the Black Knights, both missing. Her energy fillers were draining fast and not much left. She had to make the next 30 seconds count.

"Come back here you bastards." She growled as her slash harkens returned.

The Black Knights pulled back, Zero's Knightmare leveled his rifle and shot her legs stopping her advance. She aimed her slash harken and attempted to fire. A blaring alarm sounded on her terminal; her energy fillers had run out.

"Damn." She could only watch as the Black Knights left, probably retreating.

"Viceroy are you alright?" The Lancelot returned from his battle.

"Go after Zero, I'll wait here for reinforcements." Cornelia leaned back into her seat exhausted.

"But…"

"My energy fillers just ran out, now go!" The Eleven didn't argue and left to follow Zero.

Cornelia sighed in her seat; death did not take her today.

"Princess!" Guilford arrived, his Knightmare damaged and scarred.

"Guilford, send a command to retreat, we've lost today."

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

"I'm back." Miles announced as he returned from a bathroom break.

"Great, I need you to go talk to the new Phys. Ed professor about clearing out the gym for our prom." Milly said from the table as she did paperwork.

"Wasn't Shirley supposed to do that?" Miles asked.

"She left early to go see a play with her father. I couldn't very much stop her form going. That'd be cruel! So now be a dearie and go meet the professor for us, now will you?" Miles relented and went off to the gym.

It was already afternoon outside, he hoped work would be done soon so he can get in costume. Maybe his elusive detective would send him a text about any possible locations of Refrain hideouts. He certainly hoped so.

As he neared the gym his thoughts turned away from his nightly crusades to the topic at hand. The gym was empty as he entered, no one in sight.

"Probably in the locker room." Miles talked to himself as he navigated the locker room. In the office the professor sat at a desk.

"Are you the new Phys. Ed professor?" Miles asked.

"Oh yes, can I help you?" The man asked as sat up.

"Yeah, my names Miles, I'm with the student council. With the prom coming up, we just need the gym clear. The student council can come by any time to help." The professor moved from behind the desk in front of Miles. He was in a wheelchair.

"Pleasure to meet you Miles, my name I'm Professor Eugen Thompson, but you can just call me Flash."

**So sorry for the late update, life's been busy. Shit is gonna go down soon, and I hope you guys are ready.**


	15. Stage 9: Operation Start

**Y'know I have a series journal for this fic, detailing the events and progress I want to examine with each character…but I'm pretty sure I've derailed from that like 3 or 4 chapters back so really, it's just a loose guideline. Anyway, as we venture forward, I wanted to take a quick step back to see how we got to where we are now with one of my favorite characters Marvel put out in recent year, Flash Thompson. Not just a bully, but a hero.**

_**Queens, New York-Several Years Ago** _

Ever since Flash was a child, he always known lonely. His father was a drunk, his mother having left years ago, he didn't have many people to look up to during his youth. Back then he could honestly say he was rather lonely. Except he wasn't, not entirely.

Peter Parker was his only friend. A little nerdy kid who liked science and wore glasses. He was an orphan who lived with his aunt and uncle.

They hung out during school; two little outcasts together making do. Of course, that changed in high school when Flash decided to not stay as an outcast. He wanted to have friends, wanted to be popular. Football was his outing, gradually he became the schools star Quarterback. But the consequences drove Peter away. At the time Flash considered it a worthy trade…if only he knew.

"We stand here today in loving memory of Peter Benjamin Parker. Loving nephew, brilliant student, and one of Gods many children." As the Pastor went on with his speech Flash couldn't help but remember the last time he talked to Peter.

It was his going out party, when he was getting shipped out for deployment to what would become Area 18, the Middle Eastern Federation. It was just the two of them as they stood at the back of the room and sipped on their drinks.

' _So Flash, I never asked, why go into the Military? I know you always liked butting heads in Football, but I never took you one for being patriotic.'_ Peter looked to him for an answer.

' _Well, it's what I'm good at right? Butting heads, I mean. So, this just seemed like the right idea y'know?"_ He explained. Really, he didn't know what he wanted to do after high school. He was too stuck living the glory that he never really considered what to do. But…

' _Also, I wanna live up to his expectations."_ He admitted.

' _Your fathers?'_

' _No, to Spider-Mans.'_ The conversation stopped there. At the time Flash thought Peter would have called him crazy. Oh, how wrong he was.

He was in Area 18 when he got the news. Spider-Man announced dead, identity revealed as Peter Parker. He requested shore leave immediately.

When Flash returned from the deployment it was the first time in a while he'd seen so many people together that he knew. If only it was under better circumstances.

"Rest in Peace, Peter Parker. May Gods mercy extend to you." The Pastor bowed his head in silence. After a minute the Pastor raised his head and left, leaving the room to mourn.

"You should say something Flash, he was your friend." Beside him, Betty wiped away a tear with a piece of cloth. Flash nodded and walked near the casket.

"Hey there Puny Parker, didn't know when to give up huh? Who am I kidding, you never did. Couldn't even tell the difference between a waltz from a cha-cha… I'm sorry. Sorry for those years in high school. I was a bully, a jerk who didn't know any better." He clenched his fast, trying to stop his throat from clenching up.

"While I was too busy being a jerk you were out there, helping people. You saved people every day, in ways people will never know. You became a man we're all so proud of…who I'm proud of. I want you to know that I want to change, because of you Peter. I hope you can be proud of me. I'm still your number one fan."

x-x

_**Area 11** _

The entire operation was a disaster. Cornelia rubbed her head from irritation.

In the wake of the failed Narita Mountains operation she had: hundreds of dead soldiers, millions of dollars' worth of destroyed equipment ranging from ammunition to Knightmares, no lead on the corrupt bureaucrats leading this damn area, AND to put a cherry on top she was saved by an Eleven. That last one was a blow to her pride and image, the 'Goddess of Victory' needing saving from an Eleven pilot.

"Hopefully this will be enough of a reward." She muttered as she signed the paper in front of her for (now) Warrant Officer Suzaku Kururugi.

The door opened revealing Guilford entering, "Princess, I believe we have credible information for the JLF's next plans."

"Finally, some good news." She sighed.

x-x

_**Fuji Mines** _

Kallen looked out the window of the Fuji Mines, she really couldn't believe she was here. This was the most secured area in all of Japan, where the very power of her Knightmare came from.

"Beautiful view." Ohgi said beside her.

"We owe it all to Zero." She said.

"He and Kirihara have been in that room for quite a while, you sure they're okay?" Tamaki asked.

The room was foggy with a few trees and a small river. They couldn't hear what the two of them were saying but after that brazen move, Kallen hoped they weren't in danger of getting killed anymore.

Kallen watched as the two talked, Zero's hand reached up to his face and removed his mask.

"No way!" Tamaki said trying to get an angle before being pushed down by Kallen.

Kirihara looked stunned, as if being given a tremendous revelation. Did Kirihara know Zero?! She didn't know. Kirihara laughed, almost maniacally. The two shook hands, Zero put his mask back on and made to the exit.

"Which one of you is Ohgi?" Kirihara asked, almost demanded.

"That would be me, sir." Ohgi said.

"Ohgi, the rumors are true. Zero is not Japanese." The revelation stunned them. Another key piece in the puzzle that was the identity of Zero.

"Zero is a true enemy of Britannia, you must not let Zero's true identity be revealed. If you do so, the Kyoto group will supply you with equipment, funding, and intelligence. If you follow his lead, I can assure you victory is within reach." Ohgi and Tamaki sighed in relief, Kallen however could only look at Zero.

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

"How are you doing Shirley?" Milly asked.

"Thankful mostly, I'll be fine. Father has been called back in to help with the recovery at Narita, he was shaken but alive. Considering the news we're getting, I think we got lucky." It didn't sound like she was lucky.

"You must have been shaken by the news." Milly said.

"We didn't know until this morning, to think my father could have been there…I don't want to think about it."

"If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. You can go home if you want to be with your family."

"No, I need something to focus on." Milly nodded and sat back down at her seat in the student council.

For the first time in weeks the entire council was present, even Kallen. She was busy working on the layout of the gym, where to put tables, which tables to put certain snacks at, and the music to accompany it all.

"Miles did you talk with our new Phys. Ed teacher?" Milly asked.

"Oh yeah, he said we can clear out the gym tomorrow."

"What about our deliveries?"

"Me and Nina called an hour ago, no complications!" Rivalz gave a thumbs up.

"And the budget?" Milly turned to Lelouch.

"We are in a deficit, but we can expect the ticket prices to more than make up for it." Lelouch reported.

"Then we're all set for next weeks prom!" Milly clapped her hands.

x-x

_**Docks of Area 11** _

It turns out even with help from his royal highness' secret service, getting into Area 11 wasn't easy. Though he had to admit, lugging around 4 known super villains was hard to do.

"That should be them." Flash muttered as he walked to the docked ship.

' _You should not have brought them.'_ The symbiote whispered into his ear.

"His Highness demanded it; I couldn't say no." Flash rebutted.

' _I've fought many of them, they will stab us in the back at the first chance they see.'_ It continued.

"That remains to be seen." Flash ignored the symbiote to meet with the OSI agent.

"Agent Thompson, have you completed your end of the mission?" The man asked.

"Yes sir, Flash Thompson is a paraplegic gym teacher current employed by Ashford Academy. My record is sound." The agents nodded in approval before handing him a briefcase.

"In this briefcase are all our documents on Spider-Man, funding for any expenditures, and your detonation remote should it appear that any of the villains have gone rogue and need putting down. You will be supplied with a base of operations that each member of your team will inhabit. His highness only asks that the mission be completed, you have full leeway on how to execute the target. Let me be clear, that failure to do so is punishable by death. Do you understand your mission?" Sounded less like a question and more a statement, either way Flash nodded. Flash pulled out the remote detonator, just in case.

"Good, a limousine is currently parked in bay 12. The glass tinted windows should allow your team to reach your destination. An OSI agent will drive you, once you are dropped off they will leave your team. Let's begin." The agent talked into his wristwatch and slowly the occupants started to walk out.

First was Octavia, he met her during his procedure with the Venom symbiote. She was cunning, smart, and had a grudge against Spider-Man for "ramming a truck into her". He didn't know the context of their last battle and certainly did not care.

"Mr. Thompson, so glad to see you. You won't believe how hard it is to keep a conversation with our other guests. Is the symbiote acting well?" In his mind Venom scoffed, pictures of Peter fending her off in a blaze came to the front of his mind.

"Good enough. Follow the agents." She agreed and walked to bay 12.

Next was Max Dillon, Electro. He was the rowdiest of the group, when he was commanded to join, he was all too eager to accept. In his report Max Dillon used to be an electrical engineer before becoming a villain. Seems like a shoot out between the Goblin gang and this Spider-Man caused some experimental electric eel sludge to cause a reaction that lead to his condition. His entire body was surrounded by an electric-proof suit, on command he could lower his mask and hands. He was pure electricity in the form of a man.

"Is the bug here?" Electro asked.

"Yes, but remember you're under my command, Dillon, you follow my orders you get to kill Spider-Man. Clear?" Flash thumbed the remote detonator.

"Crystal." Flash motioned to the limousine and Electro followed.

Flash turned around to see their most reluctant member, Flynt Marko. He'd been hiding for years before the OSI found him and contained him. The man was a former convict, well he still was but he's presumed dead on all official documents. Flash was most familiar with the man when he fought against Peter some years ago in a construction yard. Almost got him too.

"Marko." Flash addressed.

"How many times do I have to say, I don't want it this little group. I want out." Flynt struggled against his collar. It was a unique piece of technology built by Stark Industries. Made his neck flesh -however that worked- so his detonator could kill him at any time.

"Your compliance is a non-factor." Flynt gave him an ugly stare before walking away.

"Get your hands off me!" Flash turned back to the boat to see the Martin Li.

Li has proved to be the most problematic of the group, like Marko he didn't want to be hear either. Unlike Marko he's made the point very clear. Flash remembered when he tried to unleash a deadly gas across New York. Yet again it was Peter who beat him to save the day.

"You're under my command now Li, don't try and escape. I'll be sure put a stop to it." Flash warned brandishing the remote detonator.

"Britannian scum." Li spat out.

"The faster we kill Spider-Man, the faster you can go to your cell in the Raft." Li mumbled before going to the limo as well. With all of them gone it only left one last person.

"Mr. Thompson, so glad to see you again!" Flash sighed; Quentin was without a doubt the most annoying of his teammates.

"Let's skip the formalities Beck, are you ready to head out?"

"Of course! I may be an agent of the Emperor, but I am under your command for the duration of this operation." Quentin made a big presentation for the bow.

His squad was here, and they were ready. It was time to kill Spider-Man.

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

The day was ending, and all the paperwork was done. With a weekend between them and the prom Milly decided that the council could leave early. Miles was packing his things when Shirley walked up to him, hands behind her back with a bit of a blush.

"Hey Shirley, glad to hear your fathers okay."

"Yes, well our family is a little shaken, but that's not what I wanted to talk about. In fact, I don't think it's healthy thinking of the 'what if'." Miles agreed. Shirley looked pass Miles to Lelouch he wasn't paying attention to the conversation. Time to enact her final plan.

"Miles, would you…" Behind him Lelouch still didn't look. She had to be more obvious.

"Would you like to go the PROM with me Miles?" Miles for his part was surprised by the proposal, behind him Lelouch finally noticed the conversation.

"Oh, um, wow Shirley. I don't know." Miles looked behind him to Lelouch, and to her audacity he gave a thumbs up! That…. that…THAT IDIOT!

"Yeah, yeah sure. I'll go with you." Internally Shirley scream with malicious contempt.

"That would be great, I don't have a DATE and it would look really awkward if I went to the prom alone." Shirley admitted.

"Yeah, I know the feeling, I went to homecoming alone. Very awkward. Do you want to meet up and your place or…"

"We can meet here. See you next week Miles." As Shirley waved goodbye, she couldn't help but feel thankful for how friendly Miles was…but face palm at how oblivious he was.

x-x

_**Streets of Area 11** _

After a long night of patrolling, Miles decided to spend the rest of his night walking the streets of downtown. For as much as he remembered the layout of the city's streets and alleyways, Miles hadn't really explored the settlement from the ground.

"Really nice outside." He remarked.

He continued down the streets until something caught his ears. Music, and not the common soothing music he'd hear from something like a mall.

He followed the music into a small club, between him and the door was a bouncer, however.

"I.D." He demanded.

Miles didn't argue and handed him his I.D., after a quick look over the man nodded his head and opened the door.

"Thanks." Miles said as he received his I.D.

The club was loud and lively, full of people lost to the music which itself was punk. Not really Miles' taste but he considered himself a connoisseur of music, and whoever was singing had a really good voice.

It was a red-headed girl and it looked like she was enjoying her time on stage, "Face it tiger! You gotta face it tiiiiger! It's all you got, It's your last shot!" The song ended and the lead singer raised her mic into the air in a proud pose.

"That was the Mary Janes with their song, Face It Tiger! Up next we have the Thunderbolts!" A voice over the speakers called out the names. "In the meantime, enjoy our playlist as we get our next band on stage." The music resumed to something Miles never heard before and looked back on stage.

The girls of the Mary Janes gave a quick sigh as they could finally relax after their performance. The two guitarists met with the lead singer for a hug, the drummer being the last to join in. But Miles recognized that face.

"Gwen Stacy?" He asked himself.

He remembered the girl as a member of the STEM club, the co-member right beside Connors. They never talked much, but from what he remembered she was the daughter of the police captain. The very same one that wanted him arrested. Gwens face turned to the crowd and found Miles face amongst it. Her face went white and immediately walked behind the curtain.

"Guess you never really know someone." Miles repeated the common phrase, having had enough with the club Miles left.

x-x

_**Ashford Academy-Next Day** _

Villetta thumbed the picture in her hand, a photo of the Purebloods they had taken last year during Gottwalds birthday party. Now most of them were dead or stuck in dead end positions because of Zero. Villetta looked up to the school in front of her, it took some digging and a few favors, but she was able to find the boy from Shinjuku. The boy walked out from the school with a suspiciously large briefcase, but that was the least of her worries.

Looking into this boy's life, she found inconsistencies, information that didn't add up, and most startling a lack of information. The boy hardly existed; she smelled a cover up. But to what extent she did not know, but what she did know was that Zero was somehow involved - probably behind it too.

As the boy left the academy, Villetta followed at a distance, she was determined to not end up the same as the rest of her Pureblood comrades.

x-x

_**Area 11 Docks** _

Diethard was in heaven, finally he had an in with the Black Knights. This was his chance to capture the future on camera. This would be the story of his life…no, the story of the century. It would be priceless.

"So, what is your deal? I didn't expect to see a Britannian amongst Zero's forces." Diethard asked to the man in front of him.

To his credit, the man didn't break his stoicism. He was definitely a soldier, but he stood out amongst the rest of the Black Knights – aside from being Britannian – he was in a unique outfit. Stars and stripes were an odd choice, and the large 'A' on his helmet certainly differentiated him from the rest.

"Zero has decided you will be monitored by Ohgi for the duration of this operation, don't stray far." The man ignored his question, he started to walk out of the warehouse to prepare.

"Will you at least give me a name?" Diethard asked.

The man stopped and considered it, "I'm Captain America."

x-x

"Commence the operation!" Cornelia ordered over radio.

All at once, a hundred soldiers acted in their operation parameters. Cornelia looked on at the Navy approached the JLF's final holdout while the Special Forces stayed at shore to eliminate any stragglers. Finally, she'd be rid of this pest. If only she could say the same about those rats the Black Knights.

"Viceroy, we have a spike in sakuradite energy!" Her intelligence officer beside her warned.

"Where is it originating from?" She asked.

"At the…" His voiced was drowned out by an explosion. It was forceful, almost knocking her over. When the wind died down, she traced the wind to its origin. The JLF's freighter was nothing but a smoking wreckage.

"What the hell?"

"Viceroy we have new targets!" She had a sinking feeling who it was.

x-x

Away from the docks, the explosion rang for miles, reaching a lone vigilante.

"What the hell?" Miles looked to the origin; it was the docks.

Sensing something gone wrong Miles swung. Hopefully no one was dead, but he suspected worse.

"Alright, no lolly-gagging Miles, let's push it." Miles shot out another webline, but it didn't connect.

"Huh?" A small whisper passed his other ear and suddenly he was falling.

x-x

General civilians usually don't expect explosions off in the distance, so foot traffic in the Tokyo Settlement stood at a stand-still. A sense of fear and tension gripped the masses, all wondering what had happened. It didn't help that a parked car was crushed beside them all.

It was a large and unsettling noise, the sound of crushed glass and steel combined with the noise of a human body. That body belonged to none other than Spider-Man.

"Ow." A single word escaped his mouth.

This wasn't his first time falling on something hard, but it wasn't something you could forget. Spider-Man rolled off the car on to the ground. Footsteps approached him.

"Hey thanks for the worry but I'm alright." Spider-Man waved off.

"Oh no, you're plenty resilient. I just wanted to shake your hand for all the good work you've done." The man said.

"Well I never say no to a fan." Spider-Man raised his hand, the man above him clasped onto it.

"Tha-AAAAGGGGH!" His entire body tensed, a million jolts of electricity surging through his body.

"Yeah, I'm a real big fan…bug." Another large blast knocked him back a few yards; he skid to a stop on the concrete.

"Bug? Wait…no." Miles looked up to see the man in front of him.

"Hey there, Spider-Man." A large blast of electricity came from the man, the coat he was wearing blew off and left standing was Electro.

"Max, what…how?" Electro raised his hand and prepared another bolt.

"Time to die bug!" Miles jump to the side to avoid the bolt, around him civilians ran in a panic trying to escape.

"Max please, you're gonna hurt someone!" Spider-Man stood up and ran at Electro, avoiding the next bolts.

"Die die die!" Electro charged one last bolt and shot, it missed, and Miles went for the roundhouse kick. Except that one didn't connect either as his was confronted with a wall of sand.

"Oh no." Spider-Man said as Electro charged another bolt and hit him. He flew in the air for what felt like a minute before landing on another car, crushing it.

"Isn't it nice to have friends, Spider-Man!" On the other end of the street the sand formed together to create Flynt Marko.

"Flynt…"

"Sorry bug, but I don't have a choice." He turned his right arm into a mace and slammed it down. Spider-Man dove out the way just before it hit him.

"What about your wife and kids!? What would they think about this?!" The arm-mace swung towards Spider-Man, again missing but this time hitting the side of the building.

"What they want doesn't matter, it's what I can give them that does!" Flynt retracted his both arms and combined them together to create a massive fist that slammed down in the spot he used to be.

Spider-Man weblined to a near by building. The wall burst and several tentacles latched onto him, pinning him to the wall. The wall obliterated as the arms turned him to face its owner.

"Well hello their Spider-Man, long time no see. I certainly can't remember the last time we spoke." Spider-Man strained against the tentacles.

"I remember, I hit you with a truck."

"Oh, that's right! Allow me to return the favor." Octavia grinned as he was flung to the ground, the soreness in his body told him he probably left a spidey sized hole.

"That wasn't a truck." Spider-Man quipped.

"Feel free to point one out Spider-Man!" Octavia once again threw him, this time to a nearby roof.

"Spider-Man." A familiar voice growled.

Above him was the black and white villain Mr. Negative.

"Oh, not you too." Miles sighed.

Martin Li drove his sword down to Spider-Man, who rolled out the way. Spider-Man took in his surroundings. Sandman, Doc Ock, and Electro met up at the roof together. There goes his hope it was only a fluke.

"So, four of my rogue's gallery decided to team up to kill me. That's new." Spider-Man remarked.

"Make that five!" A green mist barreled down to the roof, as the mist disappeared a man in green stood in between them all.

"Um…and you are?" Spider-Man asked.

"I? I am Mysterio! Master of mystery and we are here for you!" Spider-Mans eyes grew large, looking over the five villains.

"AHAHAHA! This guy brought you all together? Oh man, you can't see it but I'm crying right now." Spider-Man doubled over laughing.

"Oh, I'm not the leader, Spider-Man."

"That would be me." Another voice came from behind him.

A sharp pain came from his shoulder, the pain pushed him to the ground. He grabbed his shoulder, the touch of liquid made him look at his hand. It was blood.

"I thought you'd be a harder fight. It seems I was wrong. Peter Parker would have fought much harder, he'd have won. You're just mocking his legacy." A black boot came into focus, it reared back and kicked him in the gut. Pushing him towards the center of the roof.

Miles did a once over. Something was wrong. His sense wasn't working. He couldn't feel his spider-sense.

"You should have never taken his mantle." Spider-Man looked up at his assailant.

He was dressed head to toe in black armor. Guns holstered on each side of his hip. But the most glaring information…the white spider on his chest.

"What?" Spider-Man reeled back.

"Peter Parker would be ashamed of what his legacy has become. A boy in a costume, taken out swiftly from enemies Peter would have no trouble defeating." The black spider walked up to Spider-Man and placed his boot on his chest. The weight behind it pushing him into the gravel of the roof.

"Electro." He ordered.

"With pleasure." Electro shot two bolts of electricity into Spider-Man, the scream he emitted was drowned out over the electricity.

"This was a waste of time. An over-use of resources, and you couldn't even give a good enough fight. You're not worthy of being Spider-Man." The black spider aimed his gun at Spider-Man's face.

With a quick jerk from his injured shoulder, Spider-Man whipped Electros arm towards the man crushing him. The electricity pushed the man back, releasing Spider-Man.

"Kill him!" Their leader spoke, pulling out a handgun.

Spider-Man dove towards the edge of the building and swung. The villains dispersed, following after their target.

"Gotta get out of here." Spider-Man muttered to himself as he swung across the city.

"Get back here bug!" Behind him Electro rocketed towards him, shooting electric bolts at him.

Spider-Man swung back and forth to avoid them, but the bolts hit the sides of buildings and the streets below them causing massive destruction. Spider-Man yanked a pothole from the ground and threw it directly at Electro, hitting him.

"He's not the only one you have to worry about!" In front of him Doc Ock swung two of her tentacles at him, both with saw blades. Spider-Man swung high to avoid them, one entirely missed while the other grazed his back.

"Oh no you don't!" Octavia turned around to face him swinging away, "Excellent, we have him on the run." Octavia gave chase.

Spider-Man looked behind him to see Octavia and Flynt behind him giving chase. He turned back towards his escape and suddenly stopped. His entire body hit a wall; he shook his head.

"But this is a road?"

"Is it?" Suddenly the road became a building, and a dozen scared faces from civilians filled his view. Behind him was the man named Mysterio, floating in a swirl of green mist.

"What is reality, if we are but simple thoughts moving through an organ inside our heads. Can we tell what is real or not? Can you tell what is real?"

Around him the world turned dark, above him Martin Li shot his corruption blasts. Spider-Man dove out of the way but was met with an invisible fist made of sand. He landed on the ground, or what he thought was ground and ran. Electro's bolts landed beside him, each trying to take his head off.

With another webline, Spider-Man started to swing again. The world around him turned into a garbage pit as random objects started to fall, cars, newsstands, trucks, buildings, he couldn't tell which were real and which were a figment of his imagination.

"Gotcha bug!" The world around him finally returned, but with it came Electro giving him a bear hug.

Electro squeezed hard and exerted a ton of energy, to say it was painful was an understatement. It was the biggest pain Spider-Man has ever felt.

"Now you're gonna die and like it!" Electro pushed out more and more energy, soon the sky was glowing yellow from his power.

Spider-Man raised his right and placed it on Electro's shoulder. "Trying to beg for mercy! You're not getting it!" Spider-Mans hands gripped as hard as they could onto Electro and fired.

The venom blast struck Electro who in turned spasmed. His electricity re-directed itself across the city, hitting everything in sight.

Soon Electro's body couldn't take it and both of them fell.

"Damn it." Agent Venom swore, he jumped from roof to roof until making it to Electro's body. He was knocked out, with no sign of Spider-Man.

"This operation is scuffed. Mysterio cloud our exit, I don't want anyone knowing where we go." The four others grouped on Agent Venom, preparing to leave.

"Of course, Mysterio away!" A green cloud concealed their exit, leaving none the wiser.

x-x

_**Area 11 Docks** _

The operation had been a mess, the JLF had blown themselves up, the Black Knights had fought off Cornelia's forces. But Villetta wouldn't fail.

She saw Zero's Knightmare at the fight, but his ejection seat had landed him over here. She had to careful, if Zero was awake she would need to be careful in arresting him.

"There you are." She spotted his ejection seat.

She slowly walked over to Zero, it seemed he attempted to leave but passed out before he could leave. Villetta jogged over to Zero, his mask was slightly ajar so Villetta took it and discovered the identity of Zero.

"It's that schoolboy, he was Zero all along." Villetta told herself, "Thank you Zero, you've just handed me a noble title and your weight in gold. Sadly, you won't be there to see it in your cell."

"Hello, Villetta." Villetta whipped her head around to see Diethard Reid behind her with a gun. It shook in his hand, but it was very much a real gun.

"Diethard what are…you joined them." She pieced it together.

"People so seldomly get to make history, Villetta, even fewer get to witness it and record it. Don't you see what Zero can offer? He's a whirlwind of change, history in the process as we speak. The future!" Villetta drew her pistol but was stopped with the gunshots that hit her.

"Y-y-you bastard." Villetta spoke, but the words hardly exited her body.

"Thank you Villetta, you've just handed me the future. Sadly, you won't be there to see it." Diethard put another bullet into her and kicked her off the ledge.

Diethard picked up Zero's mask and gently put it back on his face. Zero could feel safe, knowing his secret was safe with Diethard.

x-x

Milly's shopping had been put to an abrupt end when Area 11 was being assaulted with explosions. The mall had shut down and asked everyone to leave. Her included. So, there she was, walking in the streets trying to get back home. What a great way to end the day.

As she walked pass an alley, she heard a crash, she almost leapt out of her own skin. From the alley she could hear groaning, like someone was hurt.

"Hello? Anyone hurt?" Milly asked.

"….milly…." The low sound of her name emanated from the alley, "…help."

Someone was hurt, and Milly's good conscious couldn't make her turn away. Slowly Milly walked into the alley, having brought out a taser (one her mother insisted she'd have) she put it in front of her as she investigated the alley.

"Hello?" She asked again.

As she walked forward, she could finally see a body, but one with a familiar symbol.

"Spider-Man." She gasped.

His costume was seared, cut through out the body, and a gash on his back. He looked half dead.

"Oh my god."

Milly kneeled to Spider-Man and rolled him over so his face could be free. Milly had no idea what to do, she had no medical training at all! She didn't know what to do. She looked to Spider-Man's face, water had cover it. It shallow breathes were a disturbing sign.

"I'm sorry, forgive me." She reached for his mask and yanked it off.

There lying in her arms, was her friend Miles Morales, the Spider-Man.

**Shit has hit the fan folks. Sinister Six have finally entangled with Miles who in turn has his identity had his secret revealed to Milly. But he isn't the only one. Lelouch has been saved by none other than Diethard Reid. You can see through out this chapter elements I have taken from the movie instead of the original anime.**

**A big inspiration for this chapter was Flash's funeral after he became Agent Venom, very touching. I mirrored it to show that even before Miles took the mantle that Peter had a good life for him. Much like he had in the Spider-verse movie his story was drastically cut short.**

**On the topic of inspiration, I did take inspiration for each of the Sinister Six.**

**Agent Venom-616 Mainline comics**

**Sandman-Raimi Movies**

**Martin Li-Spidey PS4 game**

**Doc Ock-Spider-Verse**

**Electro-Spectacular Spider-Man**

**And Mysterio is a mix of my own interpretation of the character and what he represents in the story as well as the MCU's version. Of course he still comes off as the more goofy version seen in Spectacular but that's just a part of his charm.**

**Lastly big thanks to Sentinel Prime Knight for giving me things to think about. Really thoughtful ideas.**

**Sorry for the nearly SIX THOUSAND work chapter but as we hit our stride in the story I thought "screw it" this is gonna be a long chapter.**

**Fun fact: In the comics Miles' venom blast does somehow override Electro's electricity. Maybe not as drastically but still enough.**


	16. Stage 9-1: A Beacon of Conflict

**Alright let's get back to business!**

Lelouch gasped for air, quickly taking in his surroundings he noticed he was still at the docks. He felt his face, his mask was still on, that was good.

"Lazing about while your forces are getting beaten, that's unlike you Lelouch." Lelouch turned to see his accomplice C.C. standing in front of them.

"Tell Ohgi to order a full retreat, the operation is a failure." C.C. nodded and turned on her radio.

Lelouch felt for his gun, it was missing. That certainly wasn't good. With his full senses back, Lelouch finally noticed the more specific details around him. Besides his gun being gone, there was blood. This was bad.

"Ohgi has received your orders. What's wrong?" C.C. asked.

"My gun, it's missing."

"And?" C.C. scoffed.

"That means someone was here, someone took my gun and may have seen my face. But I do know this. There were two people," He pointed to the blood on the ground, "Someone who shot, and the other who was shot."

x-x

Miles woke up with a gasp, he immediately regretted it has his shoulder ached with pain. He looked down at himself, he was shirtless save a pair of shorts he felt underneath the blanket over him. Across his chests were strips of gauze, each covering what looked like a wound. He touched at one, only for it to sting.

With self-inspection done, Miles looked around the room. It was large, the bed he was on was just as vibrant as the room around him. A colorful mix of pastel yellows and purples. There was a desk on the other side of the room, flowers on the windowsill, and a drawer to his right. On said drawer was a picture frame. The picture showed three kids, two young girls, and a boy. They looked awfully familiar.

"That's the day I first met Nunnally and Lelouch, they were kids back then. So cute, where did the time go?" Miles whipped his head to the door to the room, it was Milly.

"Milly? How…what am I doing here?" Milly walked into the room and set on the bed beside him.

"I thought you would know; you were the one who asked for my help after you were half dead in an alley." Miles looked at her in confusion, "Maybe this will help." She pulled out her phone and with a few taps showed him the headlines.

"Spider-Man ambushed by a group of super villains, is he alive?" Milly recited.

"Oh." The memory of last night replayed in his mind. That black spider, Electro, Flynt Marko…his rogues.

"I found you in an alley, it must be a miracle you were alive. But I bet being a superhero has its quirks. Seems like your wounds are healing up nicely." Oh no.

"Milly I…"

"Don't bother trying to worm your way out of it. I already took off your costume, it was hard enough trying to look away while getting that thing off you. You owe me for that." Miles blushed a bright red.

"Thank you, but you have to know Milly, the amount of people who know who I really am can fit on my hand. You can't tell anyone; my family would kill me. And I bet I know a few people who'd love to get to me through them."

Milly shrugged, "No problem, I'm pretty good with keeping secrets."

"Thank you, Milly." Miles sat up on the other side of the bed, a few stings of pain radiated across his body.

"So, how long have you been doing…this This." She asked.

"Since I was 15, I made a promise to the last Spider-Man." Miles said.

"There was another one?" Milly asked.

"His name was Peter Parker; he died the day I got my powers. He's why I became Spider-Man…that and my uncle. He got caught up in a bad crowd. He was one of Peter's rogues, when he learned I was Spider-Man, he let me go but he died for it. It was only until a few months ago that I sent his killer to jail. They are the reason why I do this. Sorry, I know this is a pretty heavy conversation."

"No, it's alright. Here, you should put on some clothes. When you're done, meet me downstairs, we can talk more while we walk." Milly pulled some clothes from underneath the bed. A fresh set that certainly didn't belong to him.

"Thanks Milly."

"What are friends for?"

x-x

_**Diethard Ried's Residence** _

A quick shower always cleared the mind, in Diethard's situation, it only honed his focus. He was permitted into the Black Knights, he was ecstatic. But there was just one last thing he needed to do before committing.

"Don't worry Lelouch, no one will ever find out." Diethard smirked as the files from Villetta's house were fed through a paper shredder, when it was all cut up Diethard took out a lighter and tossed it into the pile of paper. No one would ever be the wiser.

x-x

_**A.S.E.E.C. Mobile Base** _

Suzaku wasn't very religious, his father always raised him on the belief of laws and government power. But for this, he'd make an exception.

"Suzaku?" Behind him Cecile stood in front of his open door.

"Miss Cecile, sorry is there anything needed?" Suzaku stood up to face her.

"No, I was just checking in on you after the mission, are you okay?" Suzaku frowned.

"I'm saying some prayers for General Katase and his men, I don't really know any but I'm trying." Suzaku pointed to the small candle.

"Did you know him?"

"He was one of my father's advisors, during the war, he'd often come by our estate to plan attacks. My father would have me wait for him when he stayed at my house, he was a good man."

"He just happened to be on the other side of the war." Cecile said.

"Yes, but that's not what truly troubles me. His ship, it exploded from sakuradite, right?" Suzaku asked.

"That's what the reports say."

"Katase wasn't a man that would kill himself trying to defeat the enemy, what happened last night wasn't like him." Suzaku pointed out.

"When we're pushed to our limits, we do things we don't think we could normally do." Cecile put a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think so; I think he was set up."

x-x

_**Ashford Residence** _

Miles exited the room and made his way downstairs; Milly was talking with a woman who Miles guessed was her mother.

"You know better than anyone that Lloyd doesn't care." Milly told the woman.

"This is our only chance to regain our status again, if you…" The woman finally noticed Miles coming down the stairs. "This better not become a problem." She straightened herself and walked further into the house.

"Your mom?" Miles asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. She thinks you're here for a call." Miles blushed; Milly's blunt attitude always found new ways to get to him. "Let's drop this conversation and talk about the elephant in the room, preferably outside." Milly motioned to the door and Miles followed.

The two walked a few blocks before settling in the park. The two sat down at the bench.

"So, did you know those people yesterday?" Milly asked.

"Most of them. I've fought them at one point or another. Doc Ock worked for the Kingpin of New York, last time I saw her I threw a truck at her. With Electro I blasted kicked him into the New York harbor, thankfully the police found him unconscious. I may or may not have given them a few tips on how to release him." Miles smiled at the distant memory, remembering how he slipped the note into his father's back pocket that night.

"Who else?" Milly asked.

"Well, there was Flynt Marko, the Sandman. I ran into him on accident, he'd been in hiding for years after fighting the last Spider-Man. He's a good guy, he just got caught up on the wrong side of things. As for Martin Li, he tried to break out of Ryker's Island a few years back after he possessed a bunch of guards. I shut that down fast. After that, he was taken to a special prison called the Raft. It's a place for extra-ordinary criminals, pretty hush hush because of how many supervillains are there. I'm pretty sure I'm their biggest donor if you get what I mean."

"I don't." Milly said, Miles sighed.

"Most of the Raft prisoners were put in there by me." Milly silently nodded her head. "But the last two? I have no clue who they are. Mysterio? Never heard of him…and that black spider…I have a sneaking suspicion, but I don't like it."

"You have a lot of enemies." Milly pointed out.

"I do. But I've never seen them all get together to kill me, they hate each other. That black spider was their leader, by the way he talked it sounded like he knew Peter Parker. He said I wasn't worthy of being Spider-Man. With the way he thrashed me I'm kinda inclined to agree."

"He tried to kill you, Miles. You honestly can't be serious." Milly pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm not giving in. He's going down one way or another, if I stopped being Spider-Man because people said Peter was better; I'd have stopped years ago. Speaking of, what did you do to my costume and web-shooters?" Miles asked.

"I was able to salvage the web-shooters, they're in my purse, but the costume was a wreck. I had it burnt." Miles frowned.

"But we can't certainly let our webslinging daredevil fight crime without a costume, so I've been developing something for you." Milly handed him her phone, on the screen was something that looked like a mix between an under layer of clothing and an endoskeleton.

"What is this?" Miles asked.

"I happen to know a few friends from our families time as THE Knightmare designer. I asked for a few favors here and there, and this was what came back to me. I just presumed that some guy in an overwhelming fight may or may not need help fending for himself. And I also presumed to maybe take one of the retail models that were being exclusively sold to the military. Which I presume will be here by tomorrow." Miles stared at her in disbelief.

"You got that, for me?" Miles asked.

"Well duh, I can't have someone on my student council dying out of nowhere. Do you know how that would affect Nanna? She'd be devastated. Oh, and we'd need to get a replacement, but that's not much of a problem." Milly shrugged and was met with a hug.

"I owe you Milly."

"Consider it your early birthday gift. Meet me at my place tomorrow and we can get that new suit of your working." Milly stood up and handed him his web-shooters. "Looking at these things, you'd never expect them to be nothing more than some kind of fashionable wristwatches. Who made these?"

"A very kind lady, one I need to make a call to. I'll see you tomorrow Milly."

x-x

_**Queens, New York** _

Two rings were all it took for May Parker to answer the phone, wasn't like she had much to do as an old person.

"Hey there Miles, how's Area 11 treating you?" She asked.

"Same old same old, baddies everywhere, streets need cleaning up…oh and terrorists everywhere. Honestly May I don't think I've been this busy in years." Mei stirred her tea.

"Sorry to hear kid, so what's got you calling?" She asked.

"I'm sending you a photo from a newspaper here; do you know who this is?" Her phone made a ding and she put the phone in her face.

The picture was a green and purple man with a fishbowl on his head. And a cape. "No idea kiddo. This some new rogue?" She asked.

"Yeah, goes by the name Mysterio, some kind of "Master of Mystery", whatever that means. Well that's disappointing, but I still need an answer on one more thing. May, was there ever a black Spider-Man?"

"What?" Her voiced tensed.

"Black suit, white spider symbol on the chest, ring any bells?" Mile described.

"Where did you see this?" She asked.

"On me, trying to kill me yesterday with 5 other of my rogues, including that Mysterio guy. He almost got me too. Who is he?" May swore under her breath.

"Did you catch his name?" She asked.

"No, but he was the ringleader. Sounded like he knew Peter pretty well." The frown on Mays face deepened.

"This is a long tale Miles, find a place to sit down. That…thing you fought was one of Peters worst rogue's, that was Venom."

x-x

_**Sinister Six Hideout, Area 11** _

"Target was able to escape, but we wounded him. If he's a coward he won't pop up for a few days, in that time we'll prepare for him." Flash reported.

"See that your work is not unfinished Corporal." The Emperor demanded perfection from him, Flash wouldn't let him down.

"I will sir. But I have a question." Charles raised his brow. "I see reports of terrorists attacking and committing crime in this area, should I assist in Viceroy Cornelia's clean up?"

"Don't bother, if Cornelia can't fix this, she is a failure of a General. Your sole task is to kill the Spider-Man, no communication between Cornelia and your taskforce is to take place. Am I clear?" Charles asked.

"Yes sir, you will be done." Charles nodded and the communication ended, leaving him to his with his team.

' _He will kill us if he thinks we're a loose end.'_ Venom whispered.

"Then let's prove we aren't." Flash said.

Flash sat in his wheelchair and reformed his legs to disappear. Flash wheeled him out of the room, waiting outside for him was Octavia.

"Mr. Thompson, I believe you'd like a report on Max's health?" She asked.

"All I care is if he is combat-ready, what is his status?"

"Green," She giggled, "Sorry, couldn't help it. Max will be combat-ready in no time; his electric body rapidly heals him. Should I prepare for another operation?" Octavia asked.

"No, but always be ready. I have to go to my job, make sure the others don't cause a problem." Octavia nodded and Flash left the building.

' _You're a hypocrite.'_ The voice of the symbiote spoke again.

"Hypocrite?" Flash asked.

' _You claim the new Spider-Man is not worthy of the mantle, but here you are working with Parkers' enemies. You have killed and will kill, not like Parker. You are no hero.'_

"Peter isn't here, and I'm glad he isn't. Someone has to get their hands dirty to get things done." Flash told it.

' _So, you say, but we are bound together, I know when you lie. Tell yourself whatever you want, but I know the truth.'_

"Did you learn that before or after you tried to kill Peter?" Flash sneered.

…Nothing.

"That's what I thought." Flash pushed his wheelchair through the streets, he needed to get to his job.

x-x

_**Government Bureau** _

Cornelia sat at her desk again massaging her forehead, what a mess everything was in. Terrorists who wouldn't die, more injured or dead soldiers she's ever had before combined, and super villains! All in what was only a week.

"Honestly Guilford I think our best option is a scorched earth policy." Cornelia admitted, it was a lazy attempt to distract her from the headache, but it worked.

"This area is rambunctious, but with your heavy hand I don't doubt you will reel it in." Dutiful as ever, it seemed.

"What are the reports of the villains that were seen the other day?" Cornelia asked.

"We were able to identify four of them, all of them are current prisoners of the Raft." Guilford reported.

"Are?" She asked.

"Their current status claims they're still in their cells, but it seems that is currently wrong. We also were able to find a connection between them all."

"Let me guess, Spider-Man?" The answer seemed obvious.

"The current number of prisoners in the Raft that were imprisoned there because of Spider-Man is nearly 70%, the ones we saw were just the most dangerous. Unfortunately, we weren't able to identify two of them, but we can expect them to appear more often."

"It seems Spider-Man has been plenty busy before he ever came to Area 11, what is his status? Do we even know if he's alive?" Cornelia asked.

"If he's as much a man as he claims to be, someone of his caliber should still be kicking. We haven't found a body either, which supports him being alive. Permission to speak freely, Princess?" Cornelia looked at him, what a strange thing to ask.

"Of course, Guilford, you know I appreciate your advice." She said.

"Thank you. I believe we are out of our depth, we are soldiers, not heroes. These people are outside of our norm, we're stretched thin already with the Black Knights, government corruption, and the eyes of the Chinese Federation on this area. We need help." Cornelia sighed; she knew he was going to say that.

"I begrudgingly agree, Guilford. I'll make a call, maybe it will alleviate our burden."

x-x

_**Stark Mansion** _

Who knew getting back your property was so hard? Certainly not Tony Stark, the last few days have been very hectic. Taking back his weapons he had knowingly sent across the world was a busy job, but it helped his conscience. Now he could finally relax.

"Sir, you have a phone call." Jarvis pointed out.

"Can it wait Jarvis?" He asked.

"It is from Prince Schneizel, he is being very persistent this time."

"Fine, put him on the big screen." Tony sighed and sat up and looked at the television.

The screen came to life, with the face of Schneizel el Britannia, "Tony, how are you doing?" He asked.

"I was relaxing, but then you called. So, what do you want?"

"I'm calling in one of my favors." Tony sighed, of course.

"And that is?"

"Have you kept up with the news in Area 11?" Beside Schneizel, a news feed of current events in Area 11 sprung.

"Hmm, terrorists, super villains, and general uncertainty. Not looking great." Tony shrugged.

"Not good at all, which is why I'm calling in a favor, Cornelia needs help."

"Cornelia? Goddess of Victory Cornelia needs help? Speak up Schneizel I think I didn't hear you right."

"You heard perfectly, you're uniquely qualified to help in the matters Cornelia's forces aren't. These supervillains need to be locked up, I'm sure you can find a way to beat them." Tony grumbled.

"Fine, I'll go help Cornelia. In return, consider the new energy plant I submitted."

"Deal."

x-x

_**Unknown Location** _

News had a tricky way of finding its way anywhere. Even to the lowliest of places.

"Is that you?" The voice asked looking at the picture.

It was camera footage of the six supervillains in Area 11, but the one that stood out was the man in black with the white spider on his chest.

"That must be you!" It laughed; a cackle rose from its voice.

It shredded the paper apart, ready to take on a new journey, "I'm on my way, daddy dearest! I hope you haven't forgotten about me."

As the voice moved on, a disgusting pile of bodies revealed itself, twisted and mangled each bodies face held frozen screams and looks of terror. It was mayhem. It was Carnage.

**New allies, new enemies, and new battles await. And I for one, can't wait to show you guys what's next.**


	17. Stage 9-2: Partners

_**Government Bureau** _

Suzaku made sure to double check himself before he left his dorm this morning. He wanted to look his best, but to be fair anyone in his position would be doing the same.

"Princess Euphemia will see you now." One of the Princess' bodyguards nodded to Suzaku, opening the door to the Princess' office.

Suzaku stood up and straightened his military uniform as he walked into the office. In the corner, another bodyguard stood, ready to protect the princess should a situation call for it.

"Warrant Officer Kururugi, your highness." Suzaku stood at attention.

If he could describe the princess in front of her in one word, it'd be pink. Her hair, her dress, the makeup she wore…she was pink. But not in a way that obstructed her face, it wasn't overdone. In fact, Suzaku would say it matched her well. Her eyes reminded him of Lelouch's, except they were softer, more violet than amethyst.

"Thank you for coming, you may leave Monica." Her bodyguard made to disagree, but the princess rose her hand. "I'm sure Warrant Officer Kururugi won't harm me, not after going so far to make a name for yourself, would you?" It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Suzaku replied all the same.

"No, your highness." Suzaku shook his head.

"See? You may go now Monica." Her bodyguard sighed and walked out the door. From the sound of her footsteps it seemed she didn't leave the room outside of this one.

"Thank you for meeting with me Suzaku, may I call you that? Titles are exhausting." The princess stood up and walked in front of her desk.

"Yes, your highness." Suzaku nodded, still stood at attention.

"Please, if I'm going to call you Suzaku, you can call me Euphemia. I wanted to thank you for your actions at Narita. I was in a difficult situation, I'm sure you realized your promotion was my sister's way of giving thanks. She's not been one for being open, especially to soldiers." Suzaku wasn't sure, but this proved it.

"I am thankful, I only wanted to help her highness."

"So formal, it's actually very charming. Come walk with me Suzaku." Euphemia walked out the door and he followed. Her bodyguards trailed behind her at a distance, enough to give the two of them a small amount of privacy.

Euphemia guided the two of them to the outside garden, it was a serene part of the building he never knew existed until now.

"Do you like it, my brother made it when he came to Area 11."

"Your brother?" Suzaku asked.

"Clovis, he modeled it after the Aries Villa back in the homeland. It was a special place for us." Suzaku remembered it, Lelouch and Nunnally lived there before they were sent to Japan.

"It's very lovely." Suzaku didn't know what made it lovely, it just was.

"Thank you, it meant a lot to him." They stood in silence for a second before Euphemia turned to him. "When I saw your name attached to that Knightmare, the Lancelot, I got curious. Your name is Suzaku Kururugi, you're the son of the former Prime Minister of Japan. Yet you server in the Britannian army, why is that?" Euphemia asked.

"I guess, it's because my father instilled in me to follow the law." Because he killed him.

"That can't be just it. Certainly, there is more to it than following the law."

"I…I want to stop people killing each other." Deep down he realized how ironic it was for him to stop the killing when he himself wanted to die.

"And?" Euphemia prodded.

"And…I want to make it better, for my people. For Japan."

"How so?" Euphemia asked.

"Knights of the Round are permitted one Area to hold as their own, so to speak. When I prove myself, I will choose Japan. I'll elevate the people who have been run over, I'll work in the system to bring a peaceful end to all this fighting." Suzaku looked at Euphemia, who had a small smile on her face.

"That is an admirable quest, Suzaku." Euphemia nodded.

"Thank you."

"There was one last thing I wanted to ask, before you go." Euphemia turned to him, her face serious.

"Yes?"

"Is my brother and sister still alive?" Uh oh.

"Your brother and sister? I don't quite understand the question, your highness." A frown marked her face.

"8 years ago, Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia was sent to the Japanese Prime Minister as hostages, after the war was over, they were never found. My brother Clovis made the Honorary Britannian program in hopes of finding them again. Now that he is dead, I hope to continue his work. If at least to settle whether they are dead or not. So, when I found your record, I was more than surprised to learn that you were the son of the Japanese Prime Minister. Therefor you must have known them, or at least seen them." Suzaku felt his collar tighten, of course Lelouch and Nunally were alive but she wasn't supposed to know.

"My father kept them separate from us, I wasn't allowed to speak with them." Suzaku lied, he didn't like lying but if it was to protect Lelouch and Nunnally he'd do it again.

"I hope you aren't lying to me, Suzaku, I loved my brother and sister…Clovis did too. I miss them very much, if you have any information about them, I would appreciate it."

"I…Well, when I left my father's estate, they were still alive. The last time I saw them as a boy was 8 years ago during the war." What was that term Lelouch used to tell him? Half-truths? It still felt like lying.

"So, they were still alive?" Euphemia asked.

"After I left the estate I don't know where they went. They could have gone anywhere." Suzaku had to be careful with his words.

"More uncertainty. Thank you Suzaku. I have somethings to think about, Monica will see you out when you are ready." Euphemia looked at the garden, deep in thought.

"Thank you, I hopped I helped in the slightest." He meant that literally.

As Suzaku stood up and Monica walked up to him, Euphemia spoke up. "I just realized; you never used my name when we talked." Euphemia noted.

"I suppose I haven't." Suzaku said.

"Call me by name, would you?" Euphemia.

"Euphemia." He said, she giggled.

"It sounds forced; I hope I haven't given off the wrong impression. Thank you Suzaku, I hope we can talk again soon." Suzaku gave thanks and left, he'd have to warn Lelouch that he was being looked for.

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

A knock at Miles' door woke him up from sleep, groggily he hopped off his bed and to the door that kept knocking.

"I'm coming!" Miles said as he opened the door.

Milly stood behind the door with a beaming smile on her face and a suitcase in hand.

"Milly? What are you doing here I thought we were gonna meet at your place?" Miles asked, Milly brushed passed him and burst into his room sitting on a chair.

"I couldn't wait, I spent all night on designs, do you know how many drafts I made? Over a hundred, honestly, I've never been this excited about a project. Sure, making a superhero's outfit is hard work, but so is trying to manage a prom! Anyway, I came down to give you the suit. Everything came in this morning and I've been working on the outfit since then." Milly hoisted the suitcase onto her lap, it was heavy for her.

"Wait, this morning? What time is it?" Miles asked.

"Oh, 3 in the afternoon." Miles sighed.

"Well, let's see it." Milly giddily placed it on his bed and typed in a code to the lock.

The suitcase expanded, the suit lied in the middle and mask on top of it. Miles picked up the mask and felt it, he felt something underneath the fabric.

"The mask has an internal user interface. It has a GPS, radio, and even thermal vision. The suit itself is made with a special Kevlar weave to stop bullets; the waist has a magnetic band to support extra web fluid. That reminds me, you need to give me your recipe for your webbing so I can make you more. The better I understand it the better I can get you some cool stuff." Milly went a mile a minute discussing the intricacies of his new suit.

"Whoa, Milly, how did you get all this? How did you make my suit?" Miles asked.

"Miles, my father was THE Knightmare scientist back in the day, easy to say I learn some mechanics from him. Also, you'll know that you may pack a bit more of a punch, that's the suits limited endoskeleton. It should also help soften some blows for you, like the Kevlar its woven into the suit. There's a woven circuit board in the suit that should help your mask interface with any USB, there a male end on your arm. Oh, and your web shooters should be able to connect seamlessly into the suit." Miles looked at her with big wide eyes, the list of enhanced features going over his head.

"Milly, this is great and all, but this seems kinda like over kill." Miles looked at his new suit.

It was mostly black, with a red body, fingertips, and boots. The spider on his chest looked very geometrical and the one on the back looked very much the same but white. It felt less like his old spandex and more like a Knightmare Plug Suit. As Miles pulled it up to him, he found a small problem with it.

"Milly, I think it's a little too big for me." It was certainly a size too large.

"Oh yeah, if you put in on and slap the spider in the middle it will shrink to your size. Sorta like a vacuum." Miles whipped his head to Milly, a smirk on her face.

"Thank you." He whispered.

In his years as Spider-Man there was only one annoyance that plagued him through his years, and that was how hard it was to put on a full spandex suit.

"I'm gonna go outside, you go ahead and try that on." Milly stood up and left the room leaving Miles alone.

Miles raised the suit up to eye level; it was heavier than the spandex. Slowly, Miles put on the suit flexing as the suit clung to his body. His body took a little more force to move with the added pounds, but it definitely felt stronger. When he slipped on the mask, he could finally see the upgrades. The map at the bottom left of his vision, a heart monitor to the top left, and an ammo counter for his webbing in percentage. It was incredible.

"Alright Milly, you can come in." Miles called out.

The door opened to a starry-eyed Milly, looking at the fruits of her labor. "Amazing." She poked the suit.

"I prefer Ultimate, but thanks for everything Milly. I couldn't ask for a better suit." Miles gave her a hug; the feeling was reciprocated.

"I couldn't have you die on us, but all this doesn't come free." Milly said as she pulled away.

"What?"

"I don't want to see you in a back alley bloodied and beaten ever again. That's why I'm gonna be your very own Q!" Milly pulled out a laptop from the suitcase, one that was buried under his suit.

"Q?" Miles asked.

"I'm your gal in the chair, helping you behind the scenes!" She put her hands together and styled it like a gun, like a spy.

"Milly, I don't think that's a good idea."

"There is no discussion, you need a partner in crime…er in justice! No buts!" Milly decided.

"Milly, if you do this, you're accepting a whole different part of life. This isn't a game, if anyone finds out you're a part of this your life will never be the same." Miles urged.

"I'm not backing down, you're a friend and most importantly a member of the Ashford Student Council!" Why was that more important? "You won't be doing this alone anymore. Have some faith Miles, this will work."

x-x

Lelouch thumbed his mask as he looked out the window, Nunnally and Sayako had taken a walk, which left him and C.C. alone.

"Has there been any news on the blood we found at the docks?" Lelouch asked.

"Not yet, have any ideas?" C.C. sat at his desk looking at the news, in the off chance whoever was there that night told the press.

"A few, it could have been one of the Black Knights, but no one has come forward. It could just have been a random soldier caught in the crossfire, but that's unlikely. There were three bullets fired, so it was deliberate." Lelouch thumbed his mask harder.

"Have you tried asking where they were during the fight?" C.C. asked.

"That would cause too much suspicion, I don't want anyone thinking that someone saw under my mask unless I gave them permission. It would ruin the image of Zero." As vain as it sounded, it was the truth. The image of Zero was a carefully crafted mask that Lelouch felt under attack by whoever saw his face. If someone _did_ see him not only would Nunnally be in trouble but the Black Knights could fall apart all together. Zero was the glue that kept the organization together, not Lelouch Lamperouge.

"If you say so. There's something I need to let you know while we're talking about that night." Lelouch stopped thumbing his mask and turned to C.C., on the computer was the fight from that night. Not between the Black Knights and Cornelia, but of Spider-Man and the newly dubbed Sinister Six (it was a ridiculous name that the media decided on).

"The green one, he has a Geass." The accusation made him pay attention more.

"A Geass? Are you sure?" Lelouch asked.

"Of course, anyone with a Code can tell a Geass user from a crowd like a hound dog."

"Code?" He asked.

"My immortality, that is the Code. He wasn't one of my contracts, but he is certainly a Geass user. I don't know what it granted him, but we should be weary of him. I would suggest assassinating him, but he seems to be fixated on the Spider along with the others."

Lelouch stood up and looked at the picture on the website, it was slightly blurry, but he could definitely see him. The man in green and purple with a giant fishbowl on his head.

"I'll take that under consideration."

x-x

Ohgi was in a predicament, when it came to women with no memory of who they were he was clueless on the subject. In fact, he doubted there was anyone who _was_ an expert.

"Ah geez." He sighed as he cooked dinner.

x-x

_**Area 11 Airport** _

Private planes weren't an uncommon sight at airports, but a military convoy certainly was. Tony frowned at the huge display, if he had it his way he would have came here in his suit. But Cornelia insisted on keeping his presence a secret until they can use it to their advantage.

"Hey there Cornelia, long time no see. Guilford, still have a stick up your ass." Guilford grew irritated immediately.

"Let's skip the formalities Stark." Cornelia said as she beckoned to her convoy.

"If you wanted to keep my arrival a secret, a convoy is the least subtle thing you could do." Tony pointed out.

"Recent events have shown I can't be too careful, the Black Knights have their sights on me specifically. Not without reason either. They seem to be in the loop of things, and I'd rather have men with me then be quick and defenseless." The three of them sat in the limousine and took off.

"Sure." Tony watched as the equipment from his plane was unpacked and loaded up in storage trucks; all being sent to his temporary residence in Area 11.

"Here are the documents we currently have on the villains we could identify. The other two are still a work in progress." Guilford pulled out an envelope and handed it to him.

As he skimmed through it, he recognized them as prisoners from the Raft. Some of them had inventions suited to them personally, made by Tony himself. He couldn't tell if this was ironic or not.

"Thanks, I'll have solutions for them within the next few days." Tony stuffed the envelope into his jacket.

"Just a few days?" Cornelia asked.

"I've already worked on some of them, so most of them won't be much of a problem. The real wildcards are the other two. No clue who they are?" He asked.

"Nothing.'

"That will be problematic, if that Spider guy shows up, we will get see the other two in more action. That will help me gather some data to put them down."

x-x

_**Britannia Penitentiary** _

Prison life for Wilson Fisk wasn't as bad as life outside, in fact it gave him a sort of freedom. All the pros, none of the cons. He ran this prison; nothing went past him without his approval. Well, all but one thing.

"I'm disappointed in you, Fisk." The voice of his Emperor scolded him.

"I truly am grateful you've continued to seek my help, Charles. While this is a momentary set back, I can work much more freely than ever before." Fisk had done much more business behind bars than he ever could as the Kingpin of New York.

"Schneizel was prepared to have your head for selling to the Chinese Federation, I had him settle for life in prison. As one of my very own, I expected an agent of your caliber to be undefeated. Yet here you are, beaten down by the Spider." The mention brought a frown to Fisk's face.

"I underestimated him; it won't happen again."

"I've already set in motion to see that it won't happen again." Charles said, tossing Fisk a newspaper. On it was the team sent in to kill Spider-Man, blurry but still recognizable.

"Using some of the maniacs from the Raft? A brilliant idea." Fisk laid down the newspaper.

"Don't think flattery will blind me to your failure. Be thankful that your usefulness has improved since your imprisonment or I would have given you a code. Throwing you into C's World forever would be apt punishment for failing me." Fisk bowed to the Emperor.

"I am thankful, your Highness. What of the Ragnarök connection? What is it's process?" Fisk asked.

"It seems my late son Clovis hid the last location from me, but I am close to finding it. Once done it is only up to C.C. to come back to us."

"And what of the Spider? Is he still unaware?"

"The Weaver has made attempts to reach out, but we've been able to block most transmissions." Fisk looked back up to Charles.

"Most?"

"One got through; we haven't seen a change in him yet so we can assume he is not actively acting upon it. We have successfully been able to keep him from any Thought Elevators, not as though he's been attempting to reach them." Fisk relaxed, the Spider reaching a Thought Elevator would ruin this entire operation.

"That is good, very good."

"See that you continue to look for the final Thought Elevator, I will deal with the Spider. When Ragnarök comes, you will see your family again, Fisk, nothing will stop us from achieving our goal."

**I feel I kinda butchered the meaning of endoskeleton with the new suit. Speaking of, just wanted to clarify that it is the Far From Home suit. There aren't really many different costumes for Miles. The only ones that come to mind are his ITSV suit, his original comic suit, and his redux version that came out a few years ago(?) which just made the spider larger and boxier. Really Marvel, give my boy some new costumes! I mean for goodness sake he doesn't even have a venom suit! The** _**X-MEN** _ **have venomized versions of themselves. Why you gotta ignore my boy like that Marvel? Anyway, small rant over, hope yall enjoyed.**


	18. Stage 9-3: Club Bust

_**Black Knights Hideout** _

Steve Rogers ate a sandwich as he watched the news, back in his time news was dispersed by the paper or a town crier. Now they had screens that could broadcast the news as it happened. On one hand it amazed him when he woke up, on the other it was becoming very annoying. He'd been listening for the last hour about these new "villains" that showed up in Area 11 a few days ago. The Sinister Six, they were called. All of them had a history against the Spider-Man apparently. But that was all the news said.

For the last few days, it was nothing but repetition with only scarce new information. "It's a beauty of modern society, is it not?" Behind him Diethard Ried stood in doorway, it was announced this morning that Diethard would become a permanent member of the Black Knights, focusing on its image and relation with the public. Steve understood the idea, he started off as a joke to boost morale for the troops under General Washington's command. Every soldier needs confidence they are going to win.

"Beauty? That's a funny way of saying it." Steve took another bite of the sandwich.

"I'll admit, these amateurs use it like toddlers use a gun. It's dangerous in their hand, but with a professional, it can sway minds. The news can change a lowly thief searching for food into a rotten rogue who would do anything to fulfill his needs." Diethard walked up to him, camera in hand.

"What's that for?" Steve asked.

"The Black Knights thrive on anonymity; it's how they can get around without getting caught. But it's also a double-sided sword, The Black Knights have no face. Not many can relate to our cause if they see men and women in masks, that includes Zero."

"But isn't Zero the face of the Black Knights? He is our leader." Steve stood up to face Diethard.

"Of course, but he is still a mystery. But you, you were an inspiration. A symbol of rebellion even before Charles zi Britannia was born! You predate modern Britannia, you fought against its ancestors! You may have not won, but here you are, alive and kicking. You still fight for a cause, not any government, or personal gain, but for freedom. You spit in the face of Britannia, which is why I want to have you appear all across Area 11, hell even the world."

Steve thought about it for a minute, he had no secret identity, so he had nothing to lose. Britannia probably knew of him since his escape, so he was already known. In Steve's mind, it all added up. Every soldier needed to do their part in a war, sure he was already on the front lines and espionage…but this went beyond him. It included a people suppressed and a nation defiled, it was bigger than him.

"I'll do it."

"Good, I was hoping you would. We'll have to go somewhere else, I'm sure you realize the problems of broadcasting inside our secret base." Steve nodded, and the two of them left.

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

There was a lot on Lelouchs mind, upcoming plans, the future of the Black Knights, the Knights of Zero (who have been busy while he hasn't been looking), and what to do with Nunnally. If he was going to commit to Zero, he'd have to give her to someone she could be safe with. Sayako and the Ashfords were well and good but they didn't have the security and power he needed. Anyone from Student Council were out as well, he needed his full trust. And for as much as Kallen was his Ace Pilot, her time was better spent on the battlefield than attending Nunnally.

Lost in thought, he didn't realize the phone pressed up to his face, startled he looked up to see C.C. "Phone call." She dryly said before leaving to eat her pizza.

Lelouch sighed and stood up from his desk. The name on the phone was Suzaku's, what could he be calling for? "Hello, Suzaku?"

"Are you busy right now?" He voice sounded urgent, this was serious.

"No, are you okay?" What was wrong, did Suzaku get in trouble.

"I'm fine, it's you we need to talk about. Where can I meet you, it has to be discreet. Is your place good?" Suzaku looked at C.C., she got the message and pick up her things.

"Yeah, come by Ashford we can talk here." What did Suzaku mean it was about him? Did someone find him out?

x-x

_**Area 11 Port** _

"You know, when you called, I had assumed you were a ghost. That was quite the beating you got a few days ago, I'm surprised you're still standing." The Detective looked up to see none other than Spider-Man, slowly lowering himself onto the ground.

"Don't believe everything you see on TV. I would say I'm sorry for being out of contact, but you obviously know why." The detective nodded.

"While you were busy, I found our next lead. Do you know the Knights of Zero?" The detective asked.

"Yeah, a bunch of knock offs. I took down a few of them a few weeks back. What do they have to do with the Refrain operation?" Spider-Man asked.

"It seems they have the same boss; I was digging through one of their distribution centers and found gear made for them. I managed to eavesdrop on them and picked out a name. Richard Daws, he owns a nightclub in the Tokyo Settlement. We're going to go bust some heads and see if we can interrogate one of them. If we get him to squeal, we'll know everything we need to in order to strike at the heart of this operation."

"Good call, let's get going." Miles couldn't really tell, but he had a feeling the Detective had a smile on his face.

x-x

_**Tokyo Settlement** _

"So, this is it?" Spider-Man perched above the skylight beside the Detective. Down below more than a dozen men and women danced in a raving club. Let's went off in all hues of the spectrum. The Detective pointed to the corner of the club, sitting in a circular table with a few women was the target.

Richard Daws, brown hair, snazzy white jacket, no one would think he was peddling drugs and working with a terrorist group. In ways Richard reminded him of Kallen, so unassuming yet still having a dark secret. On second thought maybe that's as far as it went.

"So how do you want to do this?" Spider-Man looked to The Detective.

"I think we can let this all play out, bust some heads. The bigger the surprise, the better. Don't bother worrying about the employees, they're on Daws' payroll. You ready?" Spider-Man nodded; The Detective motioned to the glass. It was all his.

Spider-Man backed up, getting some room between him and the skylight. He ran, gaining speed, and jumped. He shot two webs-line on either side of the skylight and yanked him to the ground. The shattering of glass caused a lot of commotion. The employees took a second to reel back, surprised by his entrance.

"Hey all, don't mind me. Just gotta speak with your boss." Out of their stupor, every employee with a gun pulled it out and charged. "Well that was easy."

The music played loud in the background, not letting the screams of its patrons drown it out as they ran out the door. Spider-Man readied his stance as the guards on duty -about eight of them- surrounded him. "Guns? Not that's a little unfair if I have to say."

Spider-Man shot a web-line to the guard in front of him and yanked out the gun. He swung the gun in a complete circle, sure to knock the gun out of everyone's hand. With one more rotation Spider-Man let the gun fly to the face of the man he took it from knocking him out.

Two guards approached at once, throwing their fist at him. He slid under their feet and kicked his back, sending him flying. The other couldn't react in time to see a punch appear at his side, the punch aimed at his face was enough to knocked him out.

' _Let's see what improvements Milly has made to my webshooters."_ Miles thought as he flicked his wrist, in front of him a circle appeared, all with different symbols and names.

' _Electric web, stun web, impact web? Yeah that sounds good.'_ With another flick, Miles chose impact webs. He aimed both of his arms at two different guards and shot. The webs shot with some kickback he wasn't used to, they sailed threw the air at hit their mark. Both targets were knocked back from the impact webs until they hit the floor and were covered with webs.

"Oh, that's handy. Who's next?" The rest of the men fearing their lives ran, not before one was collapsed on by The Detective.

"I don't know how you do that." He said as he got up from the floor. He looked behind him as the last two ran out the door.

"It's really in the landing. It's a common mistake to land on your knees, trust it gets really tiring after a while." At the other end of the bar, Daws seethed, seeing all his man run.

"Hey there, we were just looking for you!" Spider-Man pointed at Daws, the man too angry to respond. Instead he ran the other way out the back entrance.

"Go ahead, I'll run through anything I can find here. I think he has an office." Spider-Man nodded running out the back door. He looked both ways before his spider-sense triggered.

_JUMP_

Spider-Man jumped just as a car sped through the alley and into the streets. "Oh bother." Spider-Man said, swinging to give chase.

Daws' car was very obvious, other than the only one weaving through traffic at high speeds, it was a very expensive-looking sports car. It also made the loudest noise.

"If you come back now, I won't punch you!" Spider-Man called out as followed behind him.

Daws' response was to whip out a pistol and fire aimlessly into the sky in hopes he would land a shot. It didn't work, but what it did do was cause panic. Cars swerved out the way, people ran into stores on the sidewalk. General mayhem, nothing Miles wasn't used to.

_DODGE_

Miles turned his body as a shot from behind him. As he turned around, he could see a fast-moving black SUV barreling through traffic. In every window was a gun pointing out to shoot at him, even the driver-side window. How irresponsible!

"I'll get to you in a second Daws! Lemme just clean up the street." Spider-Man swung back to the SUV to keep up to track with it. If he tried to take out Daws now, these guys would surely cause a lot of damage.

Spider-Man swung behind the SUV, moving left and right between the bullets. He had to take out the gunners before he could stop the car. With one big swing, Spider-Man threw himself to the car. He landed on the car, hearing the curses of the men inside. To his right one of them popped out to shoot, Spider-Man rotated to the side of the car as the man fired. With a punch, his gun was thrown away and Spider-Man shot a web-line connecting him and a nearby building. The shooter was yanked out of the car, suspended in the air as they drove past him.

Miles climbed into the car, seeing the surprised face of the man's cohorts, "Mind if I pop in?" Spider-Man shot his foot to the passenger on his left. He fell unconscious quickly. The passenger whipped his gun around but was quickly dissuaded as his hand got stuck to the ceiling by webbing. "Nuh-uh!" Spider-Man said disapproving, the passenger tried to yank his arm out with his free one but that too got stuck with webbing. All that left was the driver. He was so focused on driving he didn't pull his gun out.

"Please pull over." Spider-Man asked politely, the man seeing his predicament lamented and stopped the car.

"Just don't punch me." He asked. What he was granted was two shots of webs pinning his hands to the dash.

"Deal." Spider-Man reached for the keys and threw them out, the keys flew far. Past the buildings surrounding them.

"Damn it, I still have to pay this car off." The driver sulked as Spider-Man hopped out. In front of him, Daws' car had made a right turn. Spider-Man zipped onto the nearest building, watching as the car drove onto a freeway. Spider-Man swung after him, there weren't many things to swing on this high except the light poles, so he had to be careful on his swing.

"Alright Daws, I took care of the others. So how about we chat!" Spider-Man swung just behind his car. From the window of his car, put his gun out and shot. Except this time, it wasn't to him. The bullet flew beneath him hitting a car behind him. The car spun, trying to right itself but it crashed into the barrier. The car behind it without much time to swerve out the way crashed into it. The front car broke through the barrier, leaving its front-end dangling off the roof.

"Fuck you Spider-Man!" Daws yelled as he kept driving. Behind him the sound of cars colliding hit his ears again.

Miles looked between Daws and the pile-up. He had to let Daws go, and he hated the idea of him getting away. But people needed him, they needed Spider-Man. "Damn it, ok let's get these people to safety."

Miles turned back to the pile-up; people had been exiting their cars. With a sudden scraping noise, the car hanging off the freeway had inched closer to falling. In fact, at least half of the car was leaning off the ledge. "Everyone get away!" Miles shouted as he approached the car. He was gonna have to push the car behind it to move it, else he wouldn't have enough room.

With two web-lines, Miles shot at the second car, pulling it away from the first. As he did, he could finally hear the screaming come from the first car. "Help! Help us!" The frantic moving from the car only exacerbated the problem.

"Hold on I'm coming! Don't move!" Miles, with enough room for the first car, let go of the second, turned his attention back to the first. The car started to slide more and more; it wasn't going to last long. Miles shot two web-lines to the back of the car, pulling as hard as he can. As much as he could, the car was stuck. Sometime under the carriage was stopping it from moving.

"Alright, I need you all to be calm. I'm going to yank the car!" He could only hear the people inside crying. Miles positioned himself, ready to yank the car. But as he did, he could hear a distinct pop. Following the thread, he saw that the car hadn't been successfully pulled onto the freeway. Instead the rear bumper had only popped off and the car was falling.

"NO!" Miles ran after the car as it fell of the ledge, he shot two more web-lines but the weight of the car dragged him over the ledge too. In free fall, Miles looked back to the bridge and shot a web-line stopping their momentum. The weight of the car hung beneath him in one hand, and the web to the bridge was held in the other.

With as much strength he could muster, Miles pulled both ends together and connected them together. Now the car was hanging by a thread, he had to act fast. Miles swung to the side of the car and took in the situation. Three people, two in front, one in back. Driver, a father knocked out, and two sons screaming their heads off. "Hey, I got you guys. I'm gonna need you to calm down, okay!?" The sons looked at him in amazement, wide starry eyes focused on him.

"Okay kids, I'm gonna…gonna…" How was he going to do this? He looked around him, below him were some buildings. Above him was the bridge, he couldn't risk going back up. That would take too long. He looked back down, eyeing a building not too far off. He had an idea.

"Alright kids, any of you use a zipline before?" Both kids shook their heads.

"It's pretty simple, just hold on really tight and don't swing left or right. Gimme your hands." The closest kid stuck out his hands, Miles put it over the zipline and webbed them together. "Now hold on tight." Miles gently pushed the kid out of the car and towards the building.

"You next, give me your hand. I'll help you get over here." The other kid stuck his hand out and unbuckled his seatbelt. Gravity pulled the kid down towards the front seat, but Miles tightened his grip to keep him close. "Okay, you ready?" The kid nodded his head, just as he did before Miles put him on the zipline and pushed him forward.

"Two down, one to go." Miles crawled to the front seat; the father groaned unconsciously. "At least he's alive." With a readied fist, Miles punched into the driver-side door and ripped it off. Miles was aware to throw it towards a nearby roof to avoid it falling on the street below.

A loud snap cracked above him; Miles whipped his head to see the webbing holding the car giving way. "Gotta work fast." Miles unbuckled the father and grabbed him, he grabbed the zipline and slid to the roof with the other kids.

"Dad!" The two ran towards their father as Miles put him down. The man was still stirring, but it was better than being dead. Another snap cracked behind him, and the webbing connected to the car had finally given way. "Oh no!" Miles jumped off the roof to the street below and landed in the middle of the street, as it fell Miles braced his arms and legs for a few hundred pounds of metal and fabric.

The car landed above him, the rest of the unbroken glass landed around and on him, and the sound of metal crunching filled his ears. Miles threw the car off him, it flopped back onto its wheels. Around him people cheered, having watched the events of what just happened. In the distance Miles could hear sirens, most likely the police.

"Remember to always wear your seatbelt everyone!" Miles swung away ready to get back to The Detective, hopefully finding something useful.

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Lelouch and Suzaku sat in the dining room together, the three had eaten a dinner prepared by Sayoko and Nunnally was taken to her room to sleep leaving them alone.

"You know I consider you my friend, and I've tried to hide your secret the best I can. But I don't know how well I can hide it from prying eyes." Suzaku played with his hands, this was certainly troubling him.

"It's okay, just tell me."

"It seems that Princess Euphemia has taken an interest in finding you. She said she wanted to continue his work in looking for you. For as much as she appears kindhearted, our conversation was very tense." The meeting between the two replayed in his head, Suzaku wasn't sure if anything he said gave away him lying and that worried him more.

"Ah, that makes sense. Me and Nunnally were always close to Euphemia, if anyone would want to look for us it'd be her. What did you tell her?"

"I told her you were kept away from me, that I wasn't allowed to speak to you. When the war started, we split ways. I felt that an outright confirmation that you were dead would be a clear lie." Lelouch chuckled, it seemed he rubbed off on Suzaku.

"I know from experience that Euphemia can be very persistent for something she wants. Thank you, Suzaku." Lelouch stood up and move to Suzaku's side.

"What are you going to do?" Suzaku asked.

"I've spent the better part of a decade dodging the military. I'm sure I can evade Euphemia's prying eyes."

x-x

_**?** _

"Yeah it's Richard. Get me in touch with the Big Man, it's urgent." The man on the other end patched him through, the disappointed sigh of his boss filled his ears.

"Mr. Daws, what do you want?' The Big Man asked.

"Boss, my club just got sacked, I just barely escaped. I think they're looking for some dirt on the operation."

"If it's one of the local Eleven terrorists remind them you're under the Big Man. Send some of the hired men into the ghettos and make an example. If this was the only thing you came for-"

"No boss, it was that Spidery guy! I was able to get away but no doubt he's looking for something. I think he had a partner with him, but they also wore a mask. It wasn't that Zero guy on the news, some guy in a trench coat." The silence was palpable.

"Return to my office, I want to know everything," The Big Man pulled away from the phone, to talk to someone in the room, "Lorenzo, get Stacy on the line. It seems I will have to apply more pressure on him. As for you Mr. Daws, our conversation is done. Your orders are clear, now hurry." The phone call ended, and Richard sighed in relief.

A fist came crashing through his car window, as he kicked and screamed the man outside his car pulled him out and tossed him onto the concrete road. Richard groaned as he hit the ground, hard. "Do you know who I am? I work for the Big Man, the Black King! You'll be sorry you ever set foot in this city." Richard looked up to the man above him.

He stood at a tremendous height in a combat uniform colored navy blue and silver with a big star on his chest. "Son, I don't think I'll ever be sorry from a scared man like you or whatever boss you work for." The man picked him up by the collar of his shirt putting him eye to eye.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Captain America, and you're coming with me."

**We only have a couple of chapters left before we close this arc of the story, and I for one can't wait to write the finale of it. I've been planning it for a while, and it's got me excited. Hope ya'll've enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time. Also, don't know how many of you realized but I changed the**


	19. Stage: 9-99: Gifts

_**Black Knights Hideout** _

Kallen sat down on the couch with an exhausted sigh, their last mission to cut off Refrain supply lines that Rogers found was successful. The operation had been a long endeavor, well over 3 hours' worth of intense shootouts, and she was still getting used to spending those hours in her new Knightmare, so standing up had more than warranted stretching.

"At least I'm getting used to these long nights." She yawned, or maybe not.

"You're telling me," Inoue sat beside her, almost throwing her body onto the couch. She kicked her feet onto coffee table, "At least you're off your feet, running around with a gun gets very tiring." The two of them watched as the rest of the Black Knights pooled in.

Ohgi was the first to enter, looking equally as tired them, and he joined them on the couch. "Good work out there, guys." As the rest of their group entered, they all gave varying version of 'thanks', obviously tired from their recent excursion.

The last ones to enter were Diethard, Zero, and Rogers. Kallen had mixed feelings about each of them, and most of it stemmed from their lack of Japanese heritage. Funnily enough, Diethard's presence made the most sense to her. He was a buzzard, a vulture who took scraps to get by, he watched from the sidelines. He took pleasure in participating because he thought the Black Knights were something to fear. 'History in the making' he once told her a few days ago when he joined. The Black Knights were making history, and Diethard wanted to document all of it.

Zero still was an enigma to her, hell to everyone. He wasn't Japanese, that much was made clear. Was he from another country, and just made his way here to fight Britannia? But if that's so, why not stay in his own country and fight his own people? Also why was it so important that Zero was to remain anonymous? Everything about Zero was clouded in mystery, but the one thing that wasn't was his hatred for Britannia. Taizo Kirihara acted as if the two knew each other, which added even more mystery to it all. In the end, Kallen had little complaints about Zero. He was their leader, and she was his sword.

Lastly was Rogers, the centuries old Super Soldier. Personally, she thought he was full of shit when Rogers was brought into the group, but after seeing him in action it dispelled any doubt that he was a normal man. The man never tired, he fought better than anyone, all wrapped up in a silver star. Kallen wasn't too familiar with Washington's Rebellion, but Rogers certainly acted like he was there. He said he fought for the American way – Kallen had to look up what America was, apparently that was the name of the Britannia homeland long before the modern aristocracy moved – and he certainly meant it.

"Fantastic work, all of you. I'll be sure to spread the edited footage through anonymous message boards. At your command, Zero." Diethard was the first to speak, in his hand was the camera that recorded all. This was his first operation, barring the one at the docks. It seems he hadn't yet gotten off his high.

"Do it, but I want a copy sent to me. I want to double check any of your work before you send it out." Diethard nodded and left, eager to work on his new project.

"By all accounts, you all did good work out there. Mistakes were made, but they were limited and contained. Trust in one another is important, you're only as strong as your weakest link." Steve continued.

"And we all know who that is." Minami looked at Tamaki, who looked insulted and ready to make one of his famous rants.

"Placing blame won't help us fix our order, we can only do that by working together and ironing out the faults. Zero, I'd like to ask your permission on something." Zero turned to face Rogers, not expecting it.

"What would that be?"

"Am I right to assume none of you had ample military training?" Rogers asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tamaki asked, taking it as an insult.

"So far we are a small group with plenty of resources, but if we are going to be escalating, we're going to have to be prepared for our next targets."

"How do you suppose we do such a thing; we've already been fighting for years. Long before you or Zero ever joined us, remember?" This time it was Yoshida to talk.

"True, but all you've done are hit and run tactics. Our targets now are the strongest military force on the planet. We need to be better if we're going to fight them, Kalen's Knightmare has been our clutch. But it won't be long before the Britannians find a way to neutralize it, with that white Knightmare or not. So far, you've all been following Zero's order, if it weren't for him our operation would end in disarray."

"What, you saying that the only reason we're winning is because of Zero and that Guren?!" Tamaki shouted.

As much as Kallen had loathed to agree, he was right. The Britannians had no counter to Zero and the Guren has tied with that white Knightmare every time they fought, but if either of those were to be taken away it would deal a massive blow to the Black Knights.

"He's right, I hate to say it but he's right." Kallen voiced her opinion.

"Thank you, ma'am. I propose an outing, to better equip us all into working together. We can support each other's faults and become a better fighting force. In a group as small as this, we need to make up for our quantity with quality." Kallen nodded, in a war between armies, a dozen dead soldiers meant little. But in a group, such as theirs, that was all the members including Zero.

"Hmph, you make a fine argument Captain. Your excursion is granted." Lelouch understood the logic perfectly, until they could expand their forces the men and women currently in this room were all the pieces he had.

Zero turned to leave, but an arm grabbed his shoulder, "Not so fast, Zero. I've seen you fight; you need this as much as everyone else. In fact, I'd say more than the others." Zero turned around, the turn of events had certainly surprised him.

"What exactly does that mean?" Zero asked, Kallen couldn't help but crack a smile at how similar Tamaki and Zero were offended by Rogers proposal.

"You lead from the back, you rely on your Knightmare, and you rely on Kallen to be your guard in case of emergencies. You don't actively fight in any battle unless with a gun. And frankly," Rogers grabbed Zero's arm and raised it to inspect it, "You're as thin as a pencil."

The remarks made Kallen cover her laugh, no one dared talk about Zero in that way. Seeing it said so bluntly made more than a few chuckles. Zero's gaze turned to the rest of the Black Knights stifling their laughs. If he didn't have his mask on, she would have sworn the glare he was giving could kill a man.

"Noted, but I have important business to attend to." Zero yanked his arm back.

"We can make time." Lelouch frowned, of course of all the things he's forgotten to calculate it was the human variant. Not like he could, it was a wild and untamable beast that did what it felt like.

"We'll see." Zero walked out of the room, once the door closed the room filled with laughter. Maybe Steve Rogers wasn't so bad after all.

x-x

_**Government Bureau-The Next Morning** _

"Okay JARVIS, show me what we got." A large holographic screen expanded in front of him, it was a simulation of the Narita Mountains. On it were tiny Knightmares and soldiers that made up the battle that occurred before he arrived.

"The fighting between the JLF and the Britannian forces lasted almost an hour before the earthquake appeared, and when it did not only did a large portion of the JLF and Britannian forces get stuck under the rubble, the Black Knights appeared from the top of the mountain to claim victory." The simulation played through the events of the operation, showing everything Cornelia provided him. Death records, military count…anything Tony asked for.

"Which allowed the Black Knights to separate Cornelia from the larger forces and attack her. I have to say JARVIS whoever planned this, planned it well." Tony said as he spun the hologram around to survey the rest of the operation.

"It is fair to say that the mastermind behind this is none other than Zero." Tony cupped his chin, hearing JARVIS' assessment.

"What if he's just a pawn from the EU, or the Chinese Federation?" Tony asked aloud.

"No such data exists to warrant any intervention from the EU nor the Chinese Federation, information provided by Viceroy Cornelia back this, as well as reports from spy in both governments. However, it is likely the Chinese Federation has a hand in this, it is well known that the Chinese had eyes on Japan before the Second Pacific War. If Britannia did not already conquer, it is within acceptable estimates that the Chinse Federation would have annexed Japan." Tony nodded; Japan is the world's first most exporter of Sakuradite and control of the flow of Sakuradite would bring a lot of revenue.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you sir, but it seems you have a visitor." A camera feed to the front of his current laboratory showed none other than Sub-Viceroy Euphemia. Tony clapped his hands and the simulation turned off.

"Show her in JARVIS." The sound of a lock clicked and the door to the lab opened to the pink princess.

"Hello Tony, I was unaware you had an assistant with you." Euphemia looked around, was she looking for JARVIS?

"I'm sorry Princess, you will not find me physically." A hologram of JARVIS' avatar appeared in the room. If Tony could describe it, JARVIS represented himself as a ball on top of a raised platform.

"I don't quite understand what I'm looking at." She admitted.

"JARVIS here is a Virtual Intelligence System, or an A.I. in layman terms. I'm sure you've heard about them one way or another." Tony leaned on the counter near him and took a swig of coffee.

"A pleasure to meet your highness." JARVIS greeted.

"Um, the pleasures mine. I suppose such a complex machine, like JARVIS, took years to make?" Euphemia approached the A.I. hologram to inspect it.

"Take a good look Princess, JARVIS is the only state of the art A.I. you'll see for many years. At least that is until those weirdos at the Future Foundation solve their own little A.I., and that Pym guy. But that doesn't matter, what's got you down here Princess?" Tony asked, taking another swig.

"I was wondering if you'd help me with a little favor. Something I'd like not to share to my sister, it's nothing illegal…but definitely something against my better judgement." Euphemia clasped her hands.

"What in it for me? Not to be rude, but usually things like this require bartering. You understand." Euphemia thought it over, Tony Stark was a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. He had no need for money or title, and she certainly wasn't privy to marrying herself off just for a favor. The line of thinking led her to think about him as a scientist, what would a scientist value? The answer was clear.

"Knowledge." Her answer sparked a raised brow from Tony, not understanding what she meant.

"Knowledge?"

"You're a smart man, certainly you'd like to expand your wealth of knowledge. Cut your teeth on something a little more exotic? Something perhaps not yet quite understood." Tony leaned forward, that got his attention.

"Okay, we've got a deal."

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

Miles rubbed his eyes as he woke up, wiping the crust from his eyes. He picked up his phone to check the time.

"Noon, huh?" Miles stretched as he got out of bed when his phone rang in his hands. He checked the caller, it was Milly.

Miles answered the phone and brought it to his ear, "Miles here."

"Oh, good you're up, I thought I was going to have to come to your room to wake you." The cheery voice of Milly Ashford came through.

"Sorry to disappoint. So, what's up?" Miles put the phone on speaker as he started to get dressed.

"Just wanted to talk, y'know since I'm in the know I thought we'd touch base. I want to help." Miles finished getting dressed and walked to his phone.

"Alright, what do you want to know?" Miles asked.

"Well, what happened last night? I watched the news, they said you kicked down the doors to a bar and it led to a car chase on top of a freeway, what's up with that?"

"We were looking for any leads to the source of the Refrain operation, the boss of the club probably had information, but you probably saw how that ended."

"We?" Milly asked.

"Oh, um right. I've been working with a detective. A vigilante that's been gunning for the Kingpin too. It was a match made in a warehouse."

"Sounds romantic. So, what did you learn?" Miles memories returned to last night.

_**Last Night** _

Miles swung back to the club, "Detective, you here?!" Miles shouted out.

"Over here." His voice shouted from the back.

Miles navigated his way though the backside of the club, moving through the liquor counter towards an office in the back. The Detective stood behind a desk typing away at a laptop.

"Did you get Daws?" He asked, not taking his eyes away from the screen.

"No, he got away. Had to save a family from falling off freeway. Tell me you got something." Miles walked up to him. The Detective shut the laptop and pulled a USB out from the side of the laptop.

"Luckily, I can make up for not getting Daws. The laptop had a failsafe to erase its files, but that wasn't a problem. I found their main distribution center, if we hit them their I'm sure we'll find their Kingpin. It also happens to midnight as the main base of operation for these Knights of Zero. Two birds with one stone." The Detective took the laptop and smashed it.

"Mind finishing it off?" He motioned to the laptop. Miles shrugged and stomped it. The laptop had been crushed to pieces, never to turn on again.

"So, what are you going to do with that?" Miles pointed to the USB.

"Hand it over to the police, hopefully we can get some official help. Pressure from us and the legal system will definitely solidify his prison time." The Detective thumbed the USB and pocketed it.

"Sounds like a good plan." In the distance, the police sirens started to sound closer and closer, seems like they found out where they were. "We should split, cops don't seem to be very happy." The Detective nodded.

"I'll call you when I'm ready to hit their distribution center." Miles agreed, and the two of them went their separate ways.

_**Present Time** _

As Miles recounted last nights events Milly stayed eerily quiet. He'd known Milly for almost 3 months now, and in that time, Milly always gave the personality of a flirty, party girl who never took anything seriously. Yet here she was intently listening on his hero antics with the focus he's never seen before. And as he finished, Milly was still quiet.

"So, what are your thoughts?" Miles asked.

"Sounds like you got a big score to prepare for. If this leads to those wannabe terrorists behind bars, I can't help but take pleasure."

"Glad you approve."

"This wasn't just a social call, meet me in the student council room this afternoon. I have a special event for just for the council." The tone of Milly's voice sound much more jovial than before, so this was planned.

"You gonna tell me what it is?" Miles asked.

"Nope. See you later Miles." The phone hung up, leaving Miles alone.

x-x

_**Area 11 Countryside** _

Kallen checked the notes on her phone once again, the coordinates placed her at this location. Mount Tsukuba was one of Japans smaller mountains, only an hour from the Tokyo settlement. She came here once with Naoto and her mother before the war, before her father left to the homeland. Those were better days.

"Man, I haven't been to Tsukuba in years." Ohgi exited from the van and scratched the top of his head. Behind her the rest of the team had funneled out of an old van Inoue owned. It was an older Japanese model that was produced before the war.

"You see him yet?" Tamaki asked, looking around.

Kallen heard panting behind her, she turned around and sure enough she could see Steve running up from behind them. He wore a standard grey sweatshirt and gym shorts. He looked to have been running before they got here, how long has he been here? "I think that's him." Kallen got the groups attention and pointed behind him.

As Steve got closer behind him came the vibrant and inconspicuous green hair of C.C., she wore a pair of shots and sports bra. She didn't appear to be showing any signs of fatigue so maybe they haven't been running that long?

As the two came closer to the larger group, they stopped in front of them.

"Hello team, glad to see you all have made it. Miss C.C. and I have been scouting the route for the last hour or two before you all came." Steve took a bottle from the pockets of his shorts and took a quick swig of water.

"It's just you two?" She asked, it was strange to see Zero's mistress without him.

"No." C.C. said, pointing to the track behind her.

Coming into view was the form of none other than Diethard Ried, dressed in gym shorts and a track jacket. Instead of the concentrated and leisure forms of C.C. and Steve, Diethard looked like he was on the edge of passing out. His usually suave nature was replaced with a man so drenched in sweat he could be mistaken for a fish. When he finally caught up, he bent over trying to catch his breath.

"You want straighten your back, Diethard, or else you aren't gonna get as much air as you need." Diethard groaned and swiped the bottle from Steve's hands, gulping down the bottle.

"Pretty out of shape, huh cameraman?" Tamaki taunted.

"You…don't know…huh much we just ran…" Diethard took another gulp.

"So, Zero decided not to join, huh?" Minami asked.

"Not quite." C.C. said, looking back to where they came from.

If there was any sight that Kallen would call unnatural, it was the one in front of her. The mask of Zero appeared over the ridgeline, but it wasn't Zero's regular outfit. His entire body had spandex on, likely to cover any notifying features; he wore shorts and gloves to cover up the rest. Zero was dressed head-to-toe to hide any revealing features. In short, he looked ridiculous.

Zero acted much like Diethard, but instead of almost passing out, Zero looked like he was about to die.

"I got to admit, this is worth the price alone." Sugiyama smirked as Zero finally caught up, panting heavily.

"You want to stand up, Zero." Steve said.

"You're…a fitness freak." Zero managed to get out, panting hard.

"And you have the fitness of a sloth, come on everyone let's get started on the next lap. C.C. you mind watching over these two?" Steve motioned to Diethard and Zero, C.C. simply nodded. Steve started his jog, and the Black Knights followed him.

"I…blame you…for this." Zero said, looking to C.C., she did nothing but smirk.

"Don't act like you need a little muscle on those bones of yours." C.C. kept a steady jog ahead of Diethard and Zero as they continued.

x-x

_**Area 11 Police Department** _

The door to Stacy's office was almost kicked open, and he had a decent feeling who it was that did it.

"You aren't going to follow this?!" Yuri Watanabe slammed the evidence bag onto the table.

"Yuri…" George looked at the young woman, who looked infuriated.

"We finally have evidence tying this all together and you're just going to ignore it?!" She accused.

"We aren't ignoring it, but we can't just accept evidence from Spider-Man of all people. Until we can get evidence that _didn't_ include breaking and entering a privately owned bar, filled with innocent civilians mind you, we can't pursue this case. It's against the law."

"So that's it? We're just gonna drop it? We have credible evidence in this drive! If a few toes get stepped on to stop the spread of Refrain that's a price worth taking!" Yuri argued.

"I know this isn't what you wanted, but we have to play by the rules. Now, Private, I'm sure you have other matters to deal with." George sighed as he watched Yuri storm out of his office and slam the door shut.

"I'm sorry Yuri." George grabbed the drive and looked at the I.D.

He pulled up the internal database of the department and entered the evidence files. He looked back at the bag, ASM-663.

Item found: ASM-663

Options? [Open] [Edit] [New]… _ **[Delete]**_ …

Would you like to delete _ASM-663?_ _ **[Yes]**_ [No]

Complete!

George sighed with a heavy heart; he had a phone call to make.

x-x

_**Ashford Academy** _

"So, what's the deal Prez?" Rivalz asked as he sat on the couch.

As it was the weekend, everyone was dressed in their casual clothes. It wasn't often Miles met the others outside of school, especially so casually. He looked around the room to see that most of the student council was here, with a disturbing absence of a particular person.

"So, where's Kallen and Lelouch, I thought they'd be here?" Shirley asked, noticing the two absences.

"Lelouch said he was taking Nanna out for a day, and he helped me formalize this, so he doesn't need to be here. As for Kallen…"

"She claimed to be sick today." Miles filled in. Ever since Narita Miles has had his eyes ever more on Kallen, being in the Black Knights warranted such. Was she even a part of Narita? He had no idea, but he certainly still felt the need to keep an eye on her if she thought that she'd dump her disguise.

"As to be expected," Milly sighed, "I sent her an email so she should see it, but for the rest of you I wanted it to be a surprise."

"So, Madam Prez, what is it the anticipation is killing me!' Rivalz sat forward in his chair.

"After going over the budget, thanks to your wonderful work, we actually have some left-over money." Milly clicked a button and the TV in the room showed a surplus in the money the student council used for the prom.

"I can't remember the last time that's happened." Shirley said, going deep into thought.

"So, with some money left over and a round of convincing Granddad, I hereby present to you TICKETS TO CLOVIS-LAND!" Milly reached her back pocket and pulled out either tickets.

"Clovis-land?" Miles asked.

"It's the water park our dearly former Viceroy had in the works for a few years now. They had their opening last month and I bought some tickets for a day off, just the student council and Nanna. This is what your hard work paid for." Milly waved the tickets.

"Wow that's awesome Milly!" Shirley pumped her arm, enthusiastic as ever.

"Glad to hear Shirley, we'll all be heading out. That means you too Nina!" Nina blushed as she sat in the corner of the room, not liking being the center of attention.

"O-okay." She didn't even argue.

"This is cool and all, but when is this happening?" Miles asked.

"Thursday, two days before the prom. That way no one will be stinking of chlorine. So, get ready guys, we're heading to the water park this week!"

After an energetic hour of planning, everyone went their separate ways. Miles decided to return to his dorm, he had to shop for some swimming trunks after all. His phone vibrated in his pocket, as he picked it out, the name was absent and only he knew who that could be. The Detective.

' _Cops won't help, just you and me. Meet me at this address, lets bust some heads.'_ The police weren't going to help? How couldn't they, this was the Kingpin of Area 11?! Miles grimaced, if the cops weren't going to help, then he'd take down this Kingpin.

**x-x**

_**Mount Tsukuba** _

Kallen had been a fit person, she considered herself the fittest among the group. But even she paled in comparison to the fitness freak that was Steve Rogers.

"Good work out today, I'm proud of all of you for coming." Steve stood above the rest, along with C.C. who looked to have not been tired at all.

"Screw…you…" Tamaki panted as he laid on the ground with everyone else.

Kallen lamented in the moment, her arms may have felt like jelly and her lungs deflated but this wasn't a bad memory. In fact, she liked it. As she looked up to the sky she smiled, these were the people she fought with.

"Had a good workout Miss Kozuki?" Steve looked down at her.

"You could say that, thanks for this Steve. It was a good idea."

"Anytime ma'am." Steve nodded.

**x-x**

_**China, Location Unknown** _

A month's absence was not unexpected when it came to the Mandarin, but even the staunchest of devotees had grew worrisome when their master had not returned for some time. But all worries were settled when he returned.

"My lord, you return?! We were worried, we had not received any word from you…" The Mandarin's second in command was stopped by a raised hand.

"I have been deep undercover as an alias, you should know to put more faith in The Mandarin." The man was quick to apologize.

"I'm sorry, my lord."

"I don't care, take me to the ship, I wish to see it." He nodded, and The Mandarin followed.

Only those at the highest levels of the organization knew about the ship, and only The Mandarin could be the one to take its helm. For it was like the fabled Excalibur, an object that only granted those worthy to take its rings and command it.

As the two walked past numerous hallways and passed many checkpoints, they were led to a large cavern where the ship lay. It was a large green ship, entirely unknown to this world. This would be his Excalibur; this would prove his worth. He only needed the last piece.

The Mandarin thumbed his left-most little finger, in each other finger there was a ring. Each that brought power to him, but the most powerful of them all, Blacklight, remained lost to him.

"The Makluans came to this world with such incredible power, no longer will they remain separated and distant. Blacklight will become mine, and the gifts of our dragon ancestors will be realized. So says the Mandarin!"

**Sorry this one took so long to write; I had some trouble writing Euphemia and Tony's scene and it just kept getting pushed back because of other things…eh it's finally done with. Hope you've enjoyed the 4.6k chapter. Lots of set up and a good-hearted moment between the Black Knights.**


	20. Stage 10: Takedown pt1

**Apologies for not updating sooner, I've been in a bit of a rut. This chapter is going to be a 2-parter so I can finally get some work out there instead of sitting on this for a couple months. Again, apologies for not updating sooner, but hey we got a Spider-Man game ABOUT Miles and an Avengers game with Kamala Khan, so things are looking good for these two. (Now we only have to wait for their MCU appearances).**

**Edge of the Shinjuku Ghetto**

"What's with the urgency, I didn't think you'd call me for a few days." Spider-Man landed on the roof; The Detective stood in front of him his hand cupping his chin. In the night sky of the ghetto, he looked almost invisible save for the shimmer of his mask and coat.

He sighed, "Things have changed, my contacts in the police force say they won't be pursuing the evidence."

"What?!" Spider-Man stood up, "How can't they, it's irrefutable evidence. They're just going to ignore it?"

"I'm afraid to say that…the police may be corrupt. I hope I'm wrong…but that seems to be the case. The best we can do is continue our work, if we can't get the police to do their job, we'll have to persuade the public. We have to reach the ears of the Viceroy to book the Kingpin." Spider-Man nodded.

"Alright, what's the scene look like?" Spider-Man asked as he approached the ledge.

Below them was what should have been an abandoned building, after all, much of the ghetto was decrepit, but this was curiously had a pair of men in front of the doors – both with handguns. The building itself was only a few stories tall, if he had to guess what it was before the war, he'd settle on an office building.

"This should be the distribution center; we go in quiet and take whatever points our way to the Kingpin. When we get that, we burn this place to the ground." The Detective pulled out a pair of binoculars and handed it to Spider-Man.

As he put it on, he pointed to the far of the building, there was an air vent with no guarding it. "I see what you're getting at, but what about you?" He asked.

"You misunderstand, I'll be going through the vents, you will be causing a ruckus below when I say so. Feel free to sneak around and take them out quietly in the meantime." Spider-Man smirked and nodded; he liked the plan.

"Sounds good, let's get you over there." Spider-Man shot two web-lines from their building to the other and connected them.

"Meet you on the other side and keep in touch." The Detective pointed said as he zip-lined to the other building.

Seeing The Detective enter through the ventilation, Spider-Man went to work. "You two need a nap." He launched over the two guards standing in front of the door, they had no idea he was above them with his cloak. As he dropped behind them, he jabbed them both with a venom blast, they fell fast.

He point-launched back to the roof of the building, "That's a very convenient skylight, don't mind if I use it?" He asked to no one specifically as he opened it.

He silently lowered himself just enough to crawl on the ceiling, the inside was very bright. Every light that could be on was, probably to limit any unwanted intruders like him. Unfortunately for them, he had the lucky ability to turn invisible.

"Okay, I'm inside, where are you?" Spider-Man whispered into his radio looking around for his partner against crime.

The only response he got was two quick clicks of the radio, he had gone silent. "Alright then, I guess I'll just keep myself busy." Spider-Man crawled along the ceiling, inspecting his environment.

"Looks like a The Detective wasn't kidding; this place is absolutely bustling with activity." The floor beneath him was filled with people. Many of them were leisurely sitting, but that didn't excuse them from carrying a sidearm on them. One however stood out amongst the others, a familiar face and not a very friendly one.

"Alright you mooks, we got an order from the boss. We're heading out in 15 minutes, anyone not ready by then is gonna speak to my father _personally_. And you should know how much he _hates_ talking by now? Capiche!?" Joseph Manfredi a.k.a. Blackwing, son of Silvio Manfredi former head of the Maggia.

"This isn't good. Detective you there, we just got a major issue." It was silent for a few moments before he got a response.

"I just got into the office, what is it?" He asked, obviously sounding rushed.

"Joseph Manfredi is here." Spider-Man kept his eyes on Blackwing. He's only ever met the man once, and it wasn't a very pleasant experience. He had his bats back then, now however he wasn't wearing his ridiculous get-up.

"Joseph Manfredi? Son of Silvio Manfredi?! What the hell is he doing here?" He asked.

"I think I know who our mysterious Kingpin is, but there's only one thing that confuses me. He talks like his father is alive, but last I checked Silvio has been dead for years." Silvio Manfredi died a decade before Miles ever donned his costume, he was ancient by all standards. The man lived to be 100 before kicking the bucket, but by then the Maggia had been all but torn apart from infighting caused by none other than Peter. They lost profit so much that the Maggia became defunct, of course, power vacuums don't last forever, which is how New York got Wilson Fisk.

"Don't take your eyes off him, I'm downloading data from their computer. If we can prove he's the Kingpin than the Viceroy can't possibly ignore this." Spider-Man agreed, he turned back to Blackwing as the men surrounding him started putting on fake Zero masks.

"Better take some pictures, say cheese," Spider-Man whispered as his mask snapped some pictures, he really had to thank Milly for the upgrade. It was stopped when he (and everyone in the building) heard a loud gunshot. He looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. The Maggia below him did the same, pulling out their handguns and rifles.

"Did they find you?" The Detective asked.

"No, I'm just as confused as they are. Where did…"

_**BEHIND YOU** _

The wall behind him blew up and bullets started to fly each way, whoever these people were they didn't know he was here.

"Spider-Man, what's happening!?" The Detective yelled over the radio.

"Some people just blew up the south wall, I'm trying to get a good look." Spider-Man hopped between the rafters, trying to get a better view without the smoke in his way. Instead of having to go out to meet them, the intruders came _in_.

"Knights of Zero, your reign of terror ends now!" The Black Knights emerged from the smoke and rubble.

"It's the Black Knights." Spider-Man said into the radio.

"The Black Knights? Here!?"

"Surrender yourselves to us, and we will see that you are taken alive. Failure to comply means death!" Zero declared, the Maggia hid behind boxes ready to pop out and fire.

"Fat chance you elevens! Eat lead!" Blackwing stood up and aimed, about to fire.

 _That's my signal_ ¸ Spider-Man thought as he jumped from the ceiling. Time slowed to a crawl as Spider-Man aimed his web-shooters at the guns in the room. By the time Blackwing fired the gun exploded in his hand, seeing the rest of his gang face the same problems. Of course, that problem wasn't exclusive to the Maggia. The Black Knights looked at their own weapons to see they

"Tsk tsk tsk, I thought you were better than using derogatory terms Blackwing." Joseph looked up with anger in his eyes, in front of some 40 people on both sides was Spider-Man.

"Spider-Man!? You idiots, what do I pay you!" Joseph yelled at his men, less a question and more a rant.

"Sorry Blackwing, but this little 'Maggia Revival Project' is being shut down now." Spider-Man jumped into the fray, pouncing on the closest Maggia. Behind him, the Black Knights turned to Zero, waiting for his word.

"What are your orders?" Ohgi asked as he looked down at his gun, he didn't feel like having it blow up in his hands, so he holstered it for now.

"Captain," Steve came upon his left, "While we secure the rest of the building, you will help Spider-Man. You two will get along just nicely." Steve nodded and ran into the fight.

"You sure we can still trust Spider-Man, it's not like you two have been on the same page since we formed the Black Knights." Ohgi asked as he watched Spider-Man leap and punch between the crowd of criminals.

"We have a common enemy, and so our goals align. Come, let's make sure the Knights of Zero never return." Ohgi nodded and followed Zero as they left the room.

Back in the fight, Blackwing threw three knives towards Spider-Man, each missed as he jumped out of the way. Without any sharp objects flying his way, Spider-Man shot two web-lines towards a box and started to spin it around himself. As the speed heightened, he let it fly at Blackwing. The box misses him but hit another Maggia in his place.

"I knew I should have killed you the last time we met, but I was on a tight schedule. Not this time, I'm gonna put you in the ground. Shame I wasn't there when the last one died; I won't miss this one." Blackwing took out another knife, but before he could throw it a fist met his face and he fell to the ground.

"Not today, son." Captain America reeled his arm back, behind him a dozen others had the displeasure of meeting Steve's right hook.

"Nice shot, you clean up fast." Spider-Man looked at the floor full of Maggia members.

"Thank you, I've heard of your work. You do tight work here in Japan." Spider-Man leaned forward, taking a good look at his face.

"You're not from here, are you?" Spider-Man asked.

"No, I'm not." Steve walked up to the passed out Blackwing and tied his arms behind his back with a nearby wire.

"So why are you running with the Black Knights, you can do better alone than with them." Spider-Man walked about shooting webs at any of the Maggia left unconstrained.

"The cause is worth the fight, Zero is an impressive tactician. If my instinct is right, it'll take a lot more than what the Viceroy is throwing at us to keep him down." Steve stood back up, looking back at Spider-Man.

"The Black Knights are trouble, Zero especially. I've seen men like him, willing to do whatever it takes to reach the end goal, anything that justifies the ends. Sorry, but I can't stand behind that." Spider-Man turned to the man in front of him.

"I'm not asking you, what you do now is good enough." Spider-Man thought it over, he still wasn't comfortable with the Black Knights. If he was right, Zero will have a large impact on the world his friends and family included. And personally he wasn't very enthused with a revolutionary terrorist like Zero being the one in charge.

"Y'know, I didn't even ask your name." Spider-Man said.

"The name is Captain America." Steve stuck his hand out, and Spider-Man met him halfway.

"You could have warned me I would be having guests." Spider-Man turned around and saw The Detective walk with Zero.

"Sorry about that, I was a bit pre-occupied. Zero." The curt nod was the only response Spider-Man received. "You find anything? This rope the Maggia have been stringing us is getting a little tiring." Spider-Man turned back to The Detective.

"Babel Tower, that's where they're holed up." He answered.

"Babel Tower? I don't think I've heard of it."

"That's because it's currently under construction, it's apparently being hailed as the next tallest skyscraper." Zero spoke, nothing escaped his knowledge.

"Then we know where to attack, we appreciate the assistance Zero, but I don't think your help will be needed." While the faceless mask gave away no expression, Spider-Man could feel Zero's eyes squinting at him.

"I have other issues to attend to, my goal of eradicating these false Knights of Zero has been completed. This problem lays on your hands, Spider-Man." Zero turned to leave but was stopped by Captain America.

"Sir, if I could interject?" Zero turned to the soldier and nodded. "I believe the benefits of collaborating on a takedown of this size would be beneficial. This Maggia has been impersonating us, and if left to dwell we could be seeing a more active underground war between us and them. We cannot leave them in a position of power." The Captains analyses was thorough, Zero had to commend him for that.

"And what would you suggest, Captain?" Zero asked.

"I will help Spider-Man with the Maggia, the two of us should be enough to take them down. When we do, we hand them over to the authorities, and we will be far gone by the time we're done." The plan was rough, but it was a start. Spider-Man couldn't say he was enthused with working with a Black Knight…but he was a good fighter.

"If you can assure victory, then you have my permission. See that it is finished." Zero nodded and walked away, the rest of the Black Knights followed Zero out leaving the three of them alone.

"If we're going to be working together, you're going to need our radio frequency." The Detective held out his hand, asking for the radio. Cap nodded and handed it over.

"What do you get from all this?" Spider-Man asked.

"Nothing."

"Then why help?"

"Because it's the right thing to do, the ramifications of this could be disastrous." Spider-Man nodded, maybe working with Captain America wasn't a bad thing. That reminded him…

"Why is your name Captain America?" Spider-Man asked, Rogers could only chuckle.

**Government Bureau**

"I'd like the room to myself and Mr. Stark, I don't want to be interrupted unless it's urgent. If my sister comes asking for me knock thrice to let me know." Euphemia's guards nodded and exited the room.

The common area within the more secured area of the Government was empty save for herself and Tony Stark. She had promised knowledge, so she would give it.

"Y'know, a tour of the restricted parts of the Bureau was not what I was imagining when you said knowledge, princess." Tony started looking at some of the hung paintings. Most of them were made by Clovis before he passed away, some were made by commoners and young royals who entered Clovis' art contest. That reminded her the next one was approaching soon; she'd have to be prepared for it.

"I promise you that what I promise is far more interesting than this room. Here." Euphemia pulled out a small jewelry box she held and placed it on the table. Tony turned back to it with a raised brow.

"Jewelry?" He asked.

Euphemia sighed and opened the box, in it was a single ring. A sole shining pink ring. "I've kept this a secret from a sister since we were children, I've kept it a secret from everyone ever since I found it. But lately, I see a need to speak to someone about it because of the implications it brings."

Tony approached the ring and examined it. It had a gold band and a simple diamond-shaped gem. Nothing out of the ordinary. "So, what…you're getting married to a childhood friend or something?" Euphemia didn't look impressed.

"See that flower over there?" She pointed to a sunflower. Euphemia grabbed the ring, she didn't look eager to put it on, but when she did the ring shined. Literally. A soft pink light emanated from the ring. As she turned it towards the flower it shined brighter; if that were all Tony would hardly be impressed. "Watch the flower." Euphemia said.

Tony watched the flower, stood tall and proud for the world to see. But slowly, it started to wilt. The vibrant yellow started to dull, turning from dull mustard than into a sickly brown. The entire flower was dying. As it continued to wilt, a stream of pink light left the flower and entered the ring. Eventually as the flowered wilted away, Euphemia gasped for air. As if it was a strain on her.

"That is what I meant by implications." Tony could only gawk at the ring, had he seen that right?

"What was that?"

"It's an old yet powerful ring, but I have found truly little on its history. What I do know is that it was owned by my great-grandmother. She passed it on to me when she passed away a decade ago. Unfortunately, she did not say how she acquired this ring or explained its magical properties before she passed. You could see my surprise when I, at 8-year-old drained, the life out a field of grass at my family's vacation villa in the homeland. I cried so loud because I felt sorry for the plants."

"So, you're telling me, you have a magical ring that steals the life out of plants?" Tony asked.

"Not just plants, I tested it on some bugs, and it had the same effect. The largest I've effected were some squirrels. The noises that squirrel made were heartbreaking, I couldn't go through with it. I stopped immediately and the squirrel ran away. After that I made a promise to never use it on any living creature." Tony kept his eyes on the ring, he suddenly knew to never piss off Euphemia.

"So, um, where do you want to start?" Tony asked.

**This is part one of the two-part arc finale. We're gonna finally finish up with the Maggia with a spectacular finish. Stay tuned for the extra long chapter next time I update. I'll try not to take as long with that one like this chapter.**


	21. Stage 10: Takedown pt2

**Lemme tell you, trying to get a definitive idea of which Makluan Ring does what was a very annoying 15-20 minutes of cross referencing. A comic expert had one list and Wikipedia had another…it was a confusing mess. But whatever, back to the extra-long chapter.**

**Government Bureau**

"We'll be making pushes down the various islands surrounding Area 11 and across the pacific islands, multiple smaller resistance groups have them their bases under Prince Clovis' reign. It's about time we did some house cleaning." Darlton placed a castle piece on many of the islands on the map.

"What intelligence do we currently have on the terrorists in these areas?" Cornelia asked as she took a sip from her mug of coffee. It had been a long night of politics and planning. She's been almost dying to get out on the field to do some real work.

"All information is currently within the folders everyone holds. A list of notable officers, estimated force sizes, and other resistances we'll face is made available to each of the team leaders participating. Now as for who will lead, I leave that to Princess…" There was a knock at the door. Three steady knocks to alert the room. Odd, she requested not to be disturbed.

"Guilford check the door. This better be important." Guilford stood up and walked to the door to open it. As he did the room saw no one outside. "Strange I swear…" Another three knocks, but evidently it was not from the door.

"It's not any of us, your majesty." The various captains of the Glinda Knights looked in confusion.

She focused on the sound and stood up, as she did her feet took her to the curtained windows. The sound was coming from the window, but how?

"Your majesty?" Guilford asked, uncertain why she walked to the window. Cornelia threw open the curtains and was met with a black and red mask. Spider-Man. He hung upside down on a wire, he simply waved his hand at her.

"Princess, get behind me!" Guilford rushed to her side and pulled out a pistol.

Spider-Man meanwhile merely pointed up towards the roof, she understood quite well what he wanted.

"This meeting is adjourned; I have an unexpected guest." Guilford looked to argue but Cornelia did not leave room for him to try.

"Princess, perhaps we should…" Cornelia ignored him as they exited the hallway to a nearby staircase.

Cornelia walked up the stairs and to the door leading to the roof before facing Guilford again, "I believe I can handle the spider, and I'm sure he isn't hear to kill me. I will not hear any more of this Guilford." Guilford nodded, finally submitting to Cornelia's order. As he did, she pushed the door open and exited.

On the railing sat their guest, clad in black and red perched like an owl. His white wide eyes would give that impression if not for the lights. "Sorry to interrupt, it was the best way to get your attention without giving off the wrong impression. You wouldn't know how many meetings I accidentally stopped looking for you." Spider-Man rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"You do realize you are trespassing on military grounds; I could have you shot."

"Yeah, I know. You wouldn't be the first though." Cornelia couldn't help but smirk at the casual way Spider-Man diminished her threats.

"So, why has Spider-Man graced me with his presence? Surely it can't just be a social greet and meet."

"Afraid not, I've been doing some work for the past few weeks." Spider-Man hopped from his ledge holding something in his hands. Cornelia could sense Guilford straighten behind her.

"If that's what you call work, I'd hate to see what overtime is. Everywhere you go there always seems to be some type of property damage." Spider-Man chuckled nervously, he handed her something. "A flash drive?" She asked.

"Information about the criminal underground, everything you'll need to take some people down. The Maggia is an old gang that's been around for decades, everything you need to know is in there. They're centered in the construction of the Babel Tower, I'm about to kick their door in tomorrow morning. The police are corrupt, and I can't trust them. But I can trust you." The word trust was a strong word, to give it to her threw her off.

"Trust me? You hardly know me." She looked up to him with surprise.

"It isn't hard, you're kinda an open book Cornelia." She frowned, not liking the compliment. "Er`, in a good way! Look, just read the files inside it and be ready to make the biggest arrest you will ever see in your life." Spider-Man turned around and dashed off the roof. Cornelia rushed to the railing to see Spider-Man glide through the air out of the government bureau.

"What should we do, princess?" Guilford asked.

"Have the security team scan this for any malware, when it's done, I want to look over the files personally." She handed the flash drive over to Guilford and watched the horizon as Spider-Man disappeared into the night.

**x-x**

**Area 11 Ghetto**

Yuri dragged herself through the door to her apartment, it was a long night and she needed some sleep. She walked into the small living room and shrugged off her bag on a coat hanger.

"Hello Ms. Watanabe." Her head sprung up and she turned to see Captain Stacy sitting on the couch with her mother, sipping tea.

"Captain, what are you doing here?" She was worried, George never came to the ghettos.

"Can we talk in private?" Stacy asked her mother; she quietly nodded and left the living room. This left the two of them alone, the air tensed around her.

"What are you doing Yuri?" She sensed it was a rhetorical question, but she wasn't going to bow over now.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir." She played dumb.

"You know what I mean, you've been running around the settlement as a masked vigilante helping Spider-Man. You haven't been as clean as you thought." George pulled out his phone and faced it to her, it was the day she and Spider-Man busted into the club. She was walking from the inner settlement into the ghetto still in uniform, but as she turned the corner, she took off her mask.

George paused the video and put his phone back in his jacket. "You're poking the lion Yuri, and I won't be able to protect you from it this time."

"Protect me? You have done nothing to protect me from all the assholes in the department, you've kept your mouth shut since I joined the force! And when we have the evidence to take this bastard down you skip on the chance! You're a corrupt cop George, why should I listen to you?" George said nothing as he clasped his hands together. "That's what I thought." Yuri stormed back to the door and picked up her bag ready to leave.

"Don't do this Yuri." George said.

"Dad would be disappointed." Yuri said as she slammed the door shut.

**x-x**

**Ashford Academy, Next Morning**

"You've been slacking on your assignments Miles. You may be getting high grades, but you need to actually attend your classes." The words rang through Miles head as he laid his head down at the student council meeting. Responsibilities as Spider-Man has been pulling him away from school and here he was dealing with it.

"We're all set for the dance this weekend; Mr. Thompson has emptied out the gym for the rest of the day, so we won't need to clean up. Good job everyone!" The collective hooray from the rest of his friends rang true as Milly congratulated a work well done. Even Kallen gave a half-hearted 'hooray' from her end of the table. Rivalz was the loudest, eager to show his positivity.

"You okay Miles?" Nina asked, noticing the usually upbeat friend tired.

Miles yawned, "Long night." If you can count trespassing onto the Government Bureau after taking down a notable mob boss as a long night, then it certainly was.

Milly was the only one who understood, looking at Miles with sympathy. "You've all worked hard, so you all deserve a break. Take the rest of the day off, I promise it won't count against your record. Council dismissed!" Everyone got up and left the class, leaving him and Milly in the room.

"How are you holding up?" She asked, sitting beside him.

"Fine, only tired. Thanks for the free getaway, I usually have to make up some excuse."

"So, what's the next step?"

Miles sat up straight and stretched, "They're at Babel Tower, we're planning on going later today." As if on cue his burner phone started to ring. Miles motioned his head to the phone, Milly understood.

"Spider-Man here."

"Plans changed, meet me at Babel Tower now." The call ended, Miles could only stare at the phone in his hand in surprise.

"What is it?" Milly asked.

"The Detective is going to Babel Tower now. I need to leave, now." Miles stood up and left the room.

"Miles," Milly called behind him. "Be careful, and kick ass." Miles nodded and ran out of the school.

**x-x**

**Area 11 Settlement**

Spider-Man swung to the corner of a nearby building overlooking the build site of Babel Tower.

"Detective I'm here, where are you?" Spider-man spoke over the radio.

"Spider-Man?" Another voice appeared over the radio.

"Captain?" He asked.

"The Detective filled me in, I said it was a bad idea, but they ignored me." Spider-man scanned the region, looking for any sign of the captain.

"Where are you, I can't find you."

"I'm approaching through the sewers; you approach from above. We'll meet at the base of the tower and find your Detective. Let's move." Spider-Man silently agreed and jumped off his perch.

Stealth was key, so it was good thing Spider-Man had invisibility. The bridge to Babel tower had security out front, he'd bet they were employed Maggia but best to go around them than through them.

' _Man, it'd be so cool if I can walk through solid matter._ ' Miles thoughts drifted as he launched himself to the side of the bridge. Beneath him a single boat was docked, there weren't any Maggia around so whose was it? Maybe The Detective? He had no answers for now.

"Captain, I'm approaching the lobby, how are you?" Spider-Man asked as he swung up a lamppost in the courtyard. It was designed similarly to the Kawaguchi hotel, but wasn't complete. The building was much the same, about half the building was already built leaving another quarter under construction. The only deviation was a particularly furnished floor about halfway up the building.

"I'm coming up through the sewers now, meet me in the lobby." Spider-Man agreed and lowered himself to the ground, keen to make sure he doesn't cause any suspicion. He may be invisible, but he still makes noise.

As he crouched-walked along the edges of the map he spotted people in the lobby. Not just Maggia goons, but Eleven workers picking up bags of cement and leaving. Some were busy furnishing the lobby, others working on the doors. Luckily for him the door to the building had not been installed yet.

"We got civilians in the lobby, watch your targets." He received a thanks over the radio as Spider-Man entered the lobby. He jumped to the ceiling and took in his surrounding once more. There was a single camera in the corner to his right, a handful of Maggia observing the Elevens, and peaking from a doorway was the Captain.

"I see you, Cap, gimme a sec to shutdown the camera and we can take these guys down quickly."

"Go ahead."

Spider-Man crawled to along the ceiling to the camera. It was an analog camera, old but very reliable. Now he just had to make it seem convincing enough to go down.

' _Some poor cable management is in good order._ ' Spider-Man yanked on the pole that attached the camera to the ceiling. It quickly came undone and a whole mess of wires were free. ' _Man, half the job is already done for me. Poor wire management always comes back to bite ya._ ' He only tugged on the wire before it came free. The wire was loose and the camera down, they were good to go.

"Camera down, let's pick these guys off." Cap opened his door a little more, just enough to get a clear target. Spider-Man hung from above them all, ready to drop. "On go. 3, 2, 1…go!" Spider-Man fell on two Maggia, smashing them to the ground. Captain America pounced on the nearest Maggia to him, he moved to his next two target with ease and quickly disposed of them by slamming their heads together.

The Elevens already here were taken by surprise, all of them were panicking. Spider-Man stood up and uncloaked, quick to try to calm them down. Once they saw him, they suddenly stopped, instead of frantic sentences it was more like awe.

"Supaidaman!" One of them said in their closest English.

"Looks like they like you." Cap said.

"I feel touched guys, but I need you all to leave." They looked confused, and the idea dawned on him that they probably don't speak English.

"Aw jeez, none of them understand me, ugh-" Before he could think, the Captain had already started speaking in Japanese. Nothing he could understand, unfortunately. "Didn't know you were fluent."

"If you're living in a foreign land, it pays to understand the language, especially if you're fighting for them." Spider-Man couldn't disagree.

"Alright, we're here…but no Detective." Spider-Man said.

"You wouldn't find her." The two heroes prepared themselves, quick to look around the room.

"Oh, you'd need not worry, your Detective is perfectly safe with me. Well, as long as you do not try anything risky." The voice spoke over the intercom, this was obviously a trap.

"How do we know you aren't bluffing." He asked.

"Look at the TV behind the counter and you'll see I'm very true to my word." They did as they were told, and on the TV stood none other than Silvio Manfredi, alive and healthy. But beside him was The Detective, bound with rope and on the ground. A rifle barrel was pointed at him, he couldn't tell if they were conscious or not.

"You've made your point." Spider-Man relented; no way was he going to be able to take them on by surprise now.

"Good, I'd hate to get blood on my carpet before renovations have been completed. Why don't you come to my office, alone. Don't bother calling the police or anyone from the Government Bureau, I'll be waiting." The TV turned off, leaving the two heroes alone.

"He doesn't know I'm here." Cap said.

"What?"

"You friend must not have told them, or they had no reason to believe I'd be here." Of course, it made sense. Cap only joined on this mission last night. They had no previous interactions before this, for all they knew the three of them never met.

"But wait, how can we know for sure?" Spider-Man asked.

"You took out the camera, they had no eyes down here. I'm sure of it. Go up there and make a scene, I'll come up the old-fashioned way. When I get there, we'll jump Manfredi, and we'll save The Detective." The plan was sound, and Spider-Man had no other plans.

"Alright, get up as fast as you can." Cap nodded.

Spider-Man exited the lobby and jumped onto the side of the building. If he were gonna make a scene it'd be a loud scene. He started to run towards the furnished floor, of what he assumed could only be Manfredi's office. He crashed through the window and took in the situation around him.

"When I asked you to come up, I was hoping you would come like a normal person. But I suppose crashing through my window certainly works too." There he stood, Silvio Manfredi and a dozen of his gangsters with The Detective kneeling on the ground. A gun to their head.

"You know, I wasn't sure you were actually alive. But seeing you in the flesh certifies it." Spider-Man looked Silvio up and down. The man looked no older than 60, white hair, wrinkled skin, but still very healthy.

"Life is a terrible thing to lose, that's why we make the most of it. I raised a criminal empire, and you started a life of crime fighting. Great men, like you and I, are bound to create great things. But I'm not ready to let my grasp go, not yet ready to face that long dark." He pushed the gun closer to The Detective.

"Yet you're all too ready to take it from someone?" Spider-Man asked.

"Oh, but that's what makes death so terrible. It can come in an instants notice. I've spent the better part of decade searching for ways to extend my own. And when I did, I made sure no one will never be able to take it away from me. But that's enough about me, on to you and your…heroics." He spit out the last sentence with such venom.

"Not liking your profits fall?"

"The Manfredi family has already fallen once, it will not fall again. Your predecessor may have driven us to ground, but he's not here anymore. And I'll be damned if a child like you ruins us. So, I have a proposition. Leave us alone and we'll make sure we don't kill Watanabe." He gestured to The Detective.

"Watanabe?" Spider-Man looked at The Detective as Silvio removed their mask. Behind it was the face of Yuri Watanabe, an officer of Area 11.

"Oh, she didn't tell you? I suppose she wouldn't, after all being the police captains lap dog is not something to be proud of as an Eleven." Spider-Man turned his gaze from Watanabe to Silvio.

"Let her go."

"Oh? Is that a threat, no one threatens Silvio Manfredi. Boys, teach Spider-Man a lesson." The gangsters around Silvio pulled out batons, and with a press of the button electricity sparked from each one.

**5 minutes ago**

On the other side of the building, Captain America had finally reached the same floor. It was very strange to see carpet and rugs when the building wasn't even finished yet. Manfredi must have thought highly of himself.

"The boss has just engaged with the target, everyone, prepare to back them up!" A handful of gangsters nodded and loaded their guns.

"Not on my watch." Cap said as he readied his pistol. Rogers ran out of cover and unloaded, precise with his shots so to not miss anything that would come to bite him later.

"Behind us!" The man was quickly silenced, in fact there was hardly any time to react. Rogers was fast, faster than all of them combined. It took only 10 seconds before the room was cleared.

"Rear guard what is your status?" A radio from one of the dead men asked. Rogers had to move. No doubt there will be more coming to his position.

As he advanced through the building, Rogers kept his eyes up for any Maggia. But as he got closer to the office of Silvio Manfredi, he noticed something odd. Strange relics, a spear here, a sword there. They all looked strange, nothing otherworldly but…culturally different. He approached one of the swords to examine why it had been put on display.

"A sword from ancient Rome, said to belong to it's most successful general." He read the inscription beneath the frame, odd because it looked brand new. The handle itself looked old, but the metal blade left no indication of scratches or dents.

The next display was something like a war-hammer, a warn-down wooden shaft, but the metal end looked just as clean as the sword. He moved to the next, another weapon with similar properties as the others. The hilt of the weapons would look degraded, but their actual metal would look brand new.

Finally, he got to the last display, and in a blink of an eye he understood the reasons for each item. He took the last item if he were right than this fight wouldn't be easy. He strapped it to his arm, it felt just as good as he lost it.

**Now**

Back with Spider-Man, the last of the gangster fell unconscious from a kick to the face. Leaving Silvio alone.

"Unfortunate, I'll have to reorganize my security team." Silvio looked around him disappointed.

"Give up, I just cleared out the room without a sweat and you're alone. I'd hate to hit an elderly." Spider-Man walked up to Silvio. The man stood a head over him, but he was sure it wouldn't be hard to take down an old man like Silvio.

"Oh, is this the part where you take me in?" Silvio taunted.

"I already alerted the Viceroy of you; they know you're here. I think we both know that Princess Cornelia isn't one to look away from corruption and crime. You either come easy or go down hard." Spider-Man grabbed the collar of Silvio suit, ready to put him up for Cornelia to take.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen." Silvio looked at his nails, flippant with the situation he was in.

"Wha-ah!?" Silvio's right hand struck out and gripped Spider-Mans throat. His grip was like steel. Spider-Man pounded his chest, but nothing phased him. Beneath him the unconscious Watanabe was kicked aside, giving them space.

"Do you want to know how I lived this long? How I defied every doctor that's ever seen me. Let me show you." Metal sprung from his skin, ripping his shirt open. Except it didn't come _from_ his skin, it came from beneath it. Soon enough his entire wardrobe exploded leaving in it's place a goliath of a man clad in silver. The only thing left that was flesh was his head, if it even was flesh.

"They don't call me Silvermane for a reason." Spider-Man resisted again, trying to break the grip, but Silvio's only reaction was two slaps across the face. It stung, like he was just hit with a bus.

"H-how?!" He asked.

"A little bit of mad science coupled with an incredibly beautiful little thing called Vibranium. Did you ever wonder what my son did that night those years ago? Blackwing may not be as subtle as me, but he's a good lap dog to send out to fetch vibranium." Silvio slammed Spider-Man into the floor, cracking the tile beneath it.

"Unfortunately, this is where you end Spider-Man. I can't say it wasn't thrilling but you got farther than most. Oh, and when you meet the big man in the sky, tell him to keep waiting." Silvio put both his hands-on Spider-Mans throat, slowly crushing him.

Behind him, Watanabe finally stirred awake. And the first thing that came into her vision was Silvio Manfredi choking Spider-Man.

"Agh, no!" She tried to stand, but quickly realized her hands and feet were tied. She couldn't move.

"Don't move, I'll deal with you next, Watanabe. Just as soon as I finish this one." Miles struggled against Silvermanes grip, but he was quickly losing air. The world was quickly turning black.

_You won't die, I refuse to lose another Spider. Live on!_

That voice, the same from Shinjuku. His eyes shot open, his body surged with energy, like he just drank a gallon of coffee. Spider-Mans grip on Silvermanes arms tightened, his hands shook. No one could see it behind his mask, but Miles eyes shone a brilliant yellow. Like electricity had surged through his body.

"What the-?"

_**BOOM** _

The entire room exploded in bright yellow, and the epicenter circled Spider-Man. Silvermane was thrown back, the energy scorched his metallic body. The glass surrounding the room had been shattered, the carpeting was burned, and any furniture that was previously there was reduced to rubble.

"I don't know how you did that, but I'll be sure you won't do it again." Silvermane strode to Spider-Man, who was struggling to stand up.

"I don't think so!" Another force hit him from behind and knocked him to the ground. That was impossible, the Vibranium in his body was practically immovable.

Silvermane turned around to see a discus fly back to the door. Back to a man in blue and silver and a star on his chest. Immediately he understood he was duped.

"I have to thank you; I didn't think I'd ever find my shield again. Thanks for keeping it in good condition for me." Captain America admired the vibranium shield, the paint was gone, but that was easily fixed.

"Another one? Fine, I'll put down this dog too." Silvermane stood up and approached Cap.

"Careful, this dog bites." Silvermane threw a punch and before he could blink, he'd already been pushed back to the ground. Silvermane had to process what had just happened, angrily stood back up to face the man.

"You'll regret that." Silvermane swept his arm wide, trying to strike from the side. Cap jumped back and threw his shield, the impact pushed Silvermane back. While he was stunned, Cap ran around him and struck his shield behind the metal knee joint, bringing Silvermane to one knee.

"I could use some help!" To his left, Yuri called out, her hands and feet still tied. Cap tossed a small knife at her. Out of the corner of his eye, Silvermane pressed his attack, forcing him to block.

Yuri meanwhile cut the rope from her wrists and ankles. She turned to Spider-Man, who was stirring on the ground. She rushed to his side and shook him. "Wake up Spider-Man, you need to wake up!" She shook him more until he abruptly took in a large breath.

"Ow, that hurt." Yuri grabbed his hand and stood him up. As Spider-Man reoriented himself, Captain America was flung beside them. He ducked and rolled to stand back up quickly but that left Silvermane un-attended.

"I've entertained this fiasco long enough, now you three die." Silvermane pointed his arm to them as it shifted and revealed a rocket. Spider-Man's eyes bulged as he grabbed Watanabe and Cap and jumped out the window.

In free fall the rocket sailed out the window and exploded.

"AH!" Watanabe screamed, Spider-Man grabbed onto her and aimed for a lamp post. To his right Captain America grabbed on, quickly understanding what he was planning.

Spider-Man shot a web-line to the nearest and brought them down safely.

"You good?" Spider-Man asked the two. Yuri, shaving off a few years off her life, nodded. Cap looked back at the building.

"We have to get back up there." Spider-Man agreed, at the building entrance dozens of Eleven workers ran scared. They were running away from something.

"Oh, that doesn't look good." Coming from behind them all was 3 men in ballistic suits and mini guns.

**Government Bureau**

"The building is still under construction, so schematics are incomplete. This is also the operations of a mob boss, any hidden passageways will probably not visible to us. We will also be constrained, Knightmares will be limited so infiltrations will be our main force. Helicopters will be brought in to enter through the buildings unfinished upper floors." Darlton explained to the many regiment captains under Cornelia's orders.

She already reviewed the data last night immediately after it was cleared by the security team. Right now, was the preparation stage for, that quiet moment before battle.

"Ma'am!" That moment was no ruined by someone barging through the door.

"Private, you better have a good reasoning for interrupting a military meeting." Darlton warned.

"We just received information of explosions originating from Babel Tower, sighting of Spider-Man has been confirmed." That peaked Cornelia's attention, she stood up and looked out the window. She could just barely see the distinct trail of a rocket emanating from the building.

"Lord Asplund," Lloyd's ears perked up at the call of his name. "How long do you think it will take to equip a single regiment to rush to Babel Tower?" She asked.

"Oh, if we're thinking of the average crew…30 minutes."

"How long will it take to launch your Lancelot?" She asked.

"It already has." A silly grin spread across Lloyds face.

"Good, I want everyone ready now!" Every captain in that room rushed out, everyone on their phone making commands.

The Lancelot sped through the streets of Area 11, avoiding the cars and any property damage. It was a thing of beauty.

"Warrant Officer Kururugi, confirm radio contact." The voice of Cecile spoke through his radio.

"Radio contact confirmed, Ms. Croomy. I didn't finish the intel package, care to fill me in?" Suzaku asked.

"Evidence given to us by Spider-Man points the Babel Tower as the base of Maggia leader Silvio Manfredi. Recent police reports indicate that Spider-Man is currently attacking, your mission is to assist him and reduce human fatalities." Suzaku nodded; a job that for once necessitated saving people, that was right up Suzaku's alley.

"Thank you, I'm approaching the operation site." Suzaku made a sharp left and saw a crowd of fellow countrymen running away. The entrance of the building was blocked by three mini guns raining gun fire, some of it making its way to the Japanese running away.

"This stops now." Suzaku told him self as he made the Lancelot leap over the crowd and activated his Blaze Luminous system.

"Damn it we have a Knightmare!" He could hear one of the gunners yell over the sounds of bullets pinging off his shields. To his left he spotted three figures, one he could determine was Spider-Man. The other two were unknown to him, another man with a discus, and a woman in black clothes.

"Hey, White Knight!" His attention was drawn to Spider-Man as he jumped on his Knightmare. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I have to get up to that floor!" He pointed at the building; he could guess which floor he was referring to. He nodded the Lancelots head.

"I got a plan; I need you to throw me!" Suzaku could only look in disbelief, he wanted to be thrown?

"This man is certainly not faint of heart." Lloyd said over the radio.

"I'm gonna do it." Suzaku said as he turned of the Blaze Luminous on the Lancelots right arm. Spider-Man hopped on to his hand, ready to be launched.

"When I'm flying, take out the mini guns they'll probably shoot at me!" Suzaku nodded and pulled his arm back, and chucked Spider-Man in the air.

As predicted the gunners turned their fire to the flying Spider-Man, as they were distracted Suzaku launched three of his Slash Harken, each precisely hit their targets.

Spider-Man on the other hand wasn't out of the fire yet. Above him, the building was littered with Maggia aiming their rifles and rockets out from the unfinished building.

"Let's go Spidey!" Miles psyched himself up as he ran along the building, dodging bullets and missiles on his way up.

Spider-Man twisted and turned like a well performed ballerina, none of the bullets hit him. Behind him the White Knight shot the building with some kind of energy weapon, it was super cool looking, but Spider-Man had to focus on the objective in front of him.

Standing at the top was Silvermane, his face in a permanent frown. He pointed his arm down and launched a missile at him. Spider-Man expected to jump out of the way, but the missile impacted the building before it could reach him. The result was a ton of rubble falling at him.

"Unfair!" Spider-Man cried out as he jumped over the rubble to avoid being hit, except the last of the ruble was larger than the other. There was only one way through, and that was straight.

Spider-Man shot two web-lines at the large slab of concrete and pulled himself to it. He reeled his arm back and punched through, he shot out another web-line and swung back in front of Silvermane.

"You're a pest." Silvermane said as he threw another punch, Spider-Man dodged out of the way and sent a kick behind him. It hardly phased him, however. "You're weak too, you can't do anything to me." Silvermane swung his arm behind him in an arc but didn't connect with his target.

He was right, that metal was strong. Normal punches and kicks won't work. But something had to. Spider-Mans eyes drifted to the scorch marks on the metal, the burns made from that blast he made. That gave him an idea.

"Wanna bet?" He channeled his venom to his hands and put as much power as he could into it.

The two charged at each other, Silvermane swung first. His fist flew over Spider-Man as he threw his fist at Silvermanes chest, the venom had the intended effect and pushed Silvermane back. Silvermane stuck out his other arm, and out came another mini gun. Spider-Man jumped to his right and ran a wide arc around Silvermane.

"Just die!" Silvermane called out as Spider-Man jumped over his bullet and punched him in the face forcing him to stumble back to the edge of the window. Before he could stabilize himself, he turned to see Spider-Man run at him and punch him in the jaw. That was enough to push him over the edge, literally.

"AAAH!" Silvermane fell and fell and fell until his back met the concrete. But he wasn't done, he wasn't going to let the Manfredi family fall because of this bug! He stood back up and aim his rocket arm back up to the building.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?!" Silvermane fired off multiple missiles, each hitting the building.

Spider-Man jumped out before one could hit him. As he was in free-fall, he had to dodge the missiles coming at him. Silvermane was wrecking the place, he had to put him down before he caused anymore damage. This time he charged his right fist with as much energy as he could.

From Suzaku's perspective, the scene in front of him was something to marvel. Spider-Man spun around each missile, and his fist was a ball of electricity trailing behind him. And as Spider-Man made impact, a great streak of lightning shone across the sky. Greater than anything he'd ever seen.

"Woah." That was the only thing he could say as the scene cleared in front of him. Silvio Manfredi was beaten, and standing above him was Spider-Man.

"Suzaku, what just happened?" Cecile asked in his radio, the sound of concern in her voice.

"I... think Spider-Man just won." The field was quiet, except for the murmurs of the Japanese and Britanians behind him. A crowd had formed from what remained of the workers of Babel Tower and the nearby populace.

"Roger, the rest of Viceroy Cornelia's forces on a minute away. Make sure to keep the situation cleared for them." In the distance he could hear the sirens of police on their way too.

Steve Rogers stood up from his cover and walked over to Spider-Man, careful to keep an eye on Silvio in case of any sudden movements. "You okay, son?" He asked.

Spider-Man was breathing heavily, his hands eventually fell onto his knees in attempt to feel comfortable. "I just put all I had into that. I feel exhausted."

"You did good, son. Now let's put Silvio under arrest." The two of them turned to Silvio, his face struggled and moved left to right, but his body did not move.

"I think I fried his circuits." Spider-Man guessed.

"You…you did this to me. My growing empire reduced to ashes, no…no I can't let this remain!" Silvio struggled again.

"You're gonna be locked up for a long time, you better get used to it Silvio." Cap said as he approached him.

"No…no. If I'm going down. You will too. Failsafe protocol: Collapse, authorization code: Vibranium." Explosions emanated from Babel Tower; the explosions were so violent the building looked like it shook.

"What did you do?!" Cap shouted.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking as much of you with me." Silvio gave a low chuckle and lied his head on the ground.

"Get those citizens out of here," Spider-Man pointed to the crowd. "I'll see what I can do to stop the building from falling." Before he could walk, Spider-Man fell to his knee. Fatigue was setting in; pain was taking the place of adrenaline.

"Are you alright?" Yuri walked up to the hero, but he stood up.

"I'll be fine. Get the citizens to safety." Spider-Man swung up to the building onto what he counted as the 20th floor. It was a large atrium with three large pillars, each pillar was severely damaged and crumbling.

"Gotta make sure they don't collapse." Spider-Man point-launched onto a railing a few floors above him and started shooting webbing along the pillars in his ear his radio perked up.

"Spider-Man, can you hear me? This is Viceroy Cornelia."

"Cornelia, strange timing, sorry for jumping the gun. But I'm kinda in the middle of something." Spider-Man jumped from perch to perch spraying his webs at any part of the building that looked about ready to collapse.

"That's why I'm here. I have a blueprint of the building on me, I need your help to secure the building long enough until a specialist can arrive. Can you do that?" She asked as concrete from the upper floors started to fall.

Spider-Man perched himself on a pillar surveying his situation. "Already ahead of you, I'm securing some of the-"

_**KA-BOOM** _

The pillar exploded faster than he could react. The world around him was full of ringing and dizziness. Spider-man blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. He could distinctly hear Cornelia in his ear but couldn't make out what she was saying.

As he tried to stand his body responded with soreness and pain, "Ow." Spider-Man looked down at himself. His suit was torn, showing a lot of the circuitry underneath the suit and dust in between it all.

"…der-man can you hear me?!" Sound finally returned to him, somehow his radio was still working.

"I'm here, ow."

"Good, the situation just got worse. That last explosion must have knocked something because the integrity of the building is getting worse by the second." Spider-Man turned his head, the pillar that blew up was missing a large chunk of it.

"Yeah, I see it. I'm gonna have to hold it up." Spider-man coughed and walked to the broken pillar.

"Hold it up? We're evacuating people as we speak, you need to leave."

"I saw the size of this building; I'm guessing it'll take out 5-maybe 6 blocks worth of buildings when it collapses. That's a lot of people to evacuate. You won't be able to get everyone out without suffering losses. I'm gonna keep it holding the building up long enough for you to get people out of here. Don't worry, I do this kinda thing every day. I'll be fine…I hope." Cornelia didn't say anything.

"Die well Spider-Man."

Miles leaned against the pillar, breathing in one last time before he stood underneath it and pushed with all his strength. The rebar was pushing into his hands, his knees felt like buckling in, and worst of all he was alone.

"Can't say this is a very pleasant situation." Miles said to no one in particular, "But it beats history class haha-ouch." It hurt to laugh; he'd need to get that check out. If he can get out of here.

"Miles!" Milly's voice came in his ear.

"Oh, hey Milly. Sorry I'm a bit busy-"

"No, you need to get out of there! Why are you still in there?" Her voice was distressed.

"You see me?" He asked, panic filling his head.

"Me and the girls are in the shopping center a mile away. Everyone is evacuating, you need to get out of there."

"Can't, if this building falls hundreds of people would get hurt or even die. I can't let that happen." More debris fell around him. The building was on its last legs.

"But you'll die!"

"I signed up for this Milly, I know the consequences."

"But what about your family?"

"Oh right…well my dad never really liked Spider-Man, so I guess I won't have to tell him now huh?" Miles chuckled.

"This isn't a laughing matter! As your student council president, I command you leave!"

"Your spells won't work this time prez, sorry." Miles' arms felt more like jelly, he was starting to lose his grip.

"No, you can't just-is that music?" The sound of an electric guitar started to play in his ear.

"Hello? Is this the right channel? Spider-Man, helloooo?" A new voice spoke in his ear.

"Who is this?" Above him another large concrete slab fell frighteningly close, but before it could fall on him it was disintegrated in mid-air.

"Oh, there you are. Pleasure to meet you kid, names Tony Stark." Replacing the concrete was a metal man in yellow and gold. Inside of that was genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, Tony Stark.

"Oh, well… this isn't really a great situation to meet is it?" Spider-Man asked.

"Not really, Cornelia said she need someone who could help with the situation and since I was in the area, I thought I could lend my expertise." He shrugged as if it was nothing.

"You're the specialist." Spider-Man put together.

"If that's how you want to put it, sure. Is the building empty?" Tony asked.

"I think so, do a quick sweep just in case." Spider-Man said.

"JARVIS is there any life-signs in the building?" He asked.

"Scanning...There are no signs of life other than you two, sir." A voice only Tony could hear spoke.

"Good news, no one else is in here. Stay tight kid, I'll do some demolition work to make the building fall the other way. But when I say so you need to haul ass out of here." Spider-Man nodded.

"Just hurry, I don't know how long I can hold this." Spider-Man said.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be quick." Tony flew up as JARVIS took scans of the building's integrity.

"Rapid decay has led the building to dissolve very quickly, a well-aimed repulsor blast to the rear pillar and the back sides of the other two will guarantee the building fall backwards into the bay. The bottom half of the building will however fall forwards but will not cause significant damage to the greater settlement." JARVIS highlighted Tony's targets.

"Thanks JARVIS." Tony shot each of the pillars as instructed, the building didn't like that.

"Congrats sir, you've just prevented hundreds of casualties." JARVIS spoke in his ear.

"Well, can't take all the awards. Hey Spider-Man, get out of here, the building is going to topple the other way. Would be a shame if you died." Spider-Man got the hint, he could feel the building leaning away from him.

"Time to get the hell out of here." Spider-Man let go of the pillar and sprint towards the exit. Around him more parts of the building fell, some falling in his path. He could feel the adrenaline returning to his body, his goal was in front of him.

The building around him started to collapse, walls crumbled, stairs fell, and glass littered the ground around him. But Spider-Man pushed on jumping and leaping towards safety.

"I got one shot at this or I'll probably get crushed, here we go!" Spider-Man leapt into the air and aimed both of his web-shooters. Both shot a web-line to the other end of the building and yanked himself.

The pull set him flying, barely dodging the debris around him and escaping the collapsing building.

Spider-Man landed on his back, his eyes to the bright blue sky. "You okay there son?" From the peripherals of his vision, Captain America stood above him.

"My body is sore, and I just took a face full of C4, but I think I'm good." Cap extended his arm and Spider-Man took it.

Finally, he could see the crowd around him. A dozen Knightmares, APC, and Britannian military had surrounded the building. And behind them were countless civilians, Japanese and Britannian alike. And all of them were cheering.

"Congrats kid, you're a star." A slap to his back came from Tony Stark, he waved his hands for the camera's. "You're bigger than Elvis." He said as he draped an arm around his shoulder.

"Elvis?" Spider-Man asked.

"Before your time." Tony brushed off the question and kept a smile up for the crowd.

To his left Cap kept a stoic face as he watched the crowd. Spider-Man awkwardly waved as well. He'd never been appreciated like this before, sure there were some random person here or there…but never to this level. In New York Spider-Man was a crook, a criminal. But in Area 11 Spider-Man was a hero.

"You lived." Cornelia approached with Guilford at her side.

"What can I say, I do this every day." Spider-Man shrugged off Tony's arm.

"It seems so, I have you three to thank for saving all these people." Cornelia said.

"This building would have fell before I arrived; all credit goes to the kid here." Tony said.

"So, it would seem. I don't believe we've met." Cornelia turned to Cap.

"No ma'am," Cap extended his arm, Cornelia met him halfway. "Captain America." Cornelia raised her brow.

"Captain America?" She asked.

"I should let you know, I'm a Black Knight." The scene got tense, Guilford's grip on his gun tightened.

"You're braver than most to tell that to my face." Cornelia said.

"It's to let you know I don't mean you harm." Cap said.

"You're a terrorist." Cornelia rebutted.

"And I could have taken you out, without question. But this isn't the right place, the common enemy has been dealt with. I just thought it would be manners to let you know, wouldn't want your media getting any wrong ideas." Behind them more camera's flashed.

"So, it would seem, where do we go from here?" Cornelia asked.

"I'm leaving, and when I'm gone, we can settle this on the battlefield. Like soldiers." Cornelia chuckled.

"I can't help but agree." The sound of a speed boat came from under them, and sure enough over the edge there it was.

"So, it was yours." Spider-Man said to himself.

"It was a pleasure, Spider-Man." Captain America leaped off the side and landed in the speed boat. As soon as he landed the driver (a Japanese man from what he could see) drove off.

"Should I follow them?" Guilford asked.

"No, he's right. We'll settle this on the battlefield. As for you two, I believe I'm once again indebted." Cornelia said.

"Not like you can get me anything." Tony said.

"Yes, but for you Spider-Man…thank you. If you ever plan to take off that mask and join the military, I could always make room for you in my royal guard."

"The offer is enticing, but I'm where I'm best useful. Gotta look out for the little guy when goliaths like you run around." Spider-Man espoused.

"If you say so, but you should reconsider your place. Seems like you're one of those 'goliaths' as well." Cornelia walked off, Guilford in tow.

"Never seen someone refuse an offer from a princess before, you're one of a kind kid." Tony slapped his back.

"Thanks, I have something to look up on though." Spider-Man moved on in search of someone.

On the other side of the city, the Sinister Six watched the news with boredom.

"We should swoop in now, while he's weak." Electro said.

"It would not be incredibly wise to attack him in the middle of the princess' own military." Octavia said.

"Screw them than, our mission is the bug, we kill him we get what we want." Electro refuted.

"We don't do anything unless the boss man said so." Sandman said, looking to Flash Thompson.

"We stay our hand; I'm cooking something up. That's when we'll attack." Nothing else was said except for the grumbles of Electro missing his opportunity.

Back at Babel Tower (or what remained of it), Yuri Watanabe sat in the back of a hospital van.

"Hey." She looked up to see Spider-Man standing in front of her.

"Hey. Shouldn't you be celebrating?" She asked, a bit of venom in her words.

"Wanted to know you were okay. So, you're a cop."

"Was a cop, not anymore." Yuri said.

"You quit?" He asked.

"Was fired, an Eleven making noise isn't really what people like to see." Yuri admitted.

"What, how can they do that. You're the reason that all this happened, this is as much your success than anyone else." Spider-Man said.

"Not anymore, after this investigation…I don't know anymore. The person I looked up to, Captain Stacy was corrupt. He was a paragon in my eyes, now I can't look him in the eyes anymore. But you, you've opened mine."

"Huh?"

"The system, I tried so hard to uphold said no to me at every turn. I tried to make this case official but was always met with yellow tape. Now that I go outside the law…well you can see the results." She motioned to the crowd that remained.

"Are results the only thing that matter to you?" Spider-Man asked.

"If it means taking down monsters like Silvio…yes. Thank you, Spider-man, but I have to go." Yuri stood up and walked away.

"See you around?" He asked.

"Maybe one day, but for now it's goodbye." Yuri nodded at him and left, leaving him alone.

"Miles, are you there?" Milly's voice spoke in his ear.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm on my way back."

"You're such an idiot, thanks for not dying."

"Ha, never." Miles chuckled.

**8,300 WORDS. Ho-boy that was a long one. Sorry for taking a while but this was a monster of a chapter to write. This brings an end to this arc. I'm really excited for the next arc and what that brings to the table.**


	22. Stage 11: A Day Off

**I have been looking for a high-quality Code Geass soundtrack for years, and ironically it was under my nose for years. On Spotify. I feel so stupid for not checking it, but that doesn't matter now. If only I can find Mozaiku Kakera, then everything would be great. Sorry for not updating sooner, I've had a hell of a writer's block. Anyway, let's get back to it.**

**Ashford Academy**

The school was abuzz with talk. Everyone was talking about the events of yesterday. Superheroes came together to prevent the destruction and death of hundreds of people. Both Elevens and Britannians were ecstatic about it.

"And then Iron Man flew in 'FWOOOSH' and then Spider-Man was like 'BAM' and Captain America was barking orders 'You go over here; you get those civilians over there!' it was crazy!" Rivalz reenacted the events at Babel Tower.

"The bar you worked at was near it, right?" Miles asked.

"Yeah, one second I'm serving drinks and the next 'BOOOM'! This huge explosion rattles everything, and everyone runs outside. It didn't take long for the military to get there; it was a white Knightmare that came. Really cool looking too, like nothing I'd ever seen! It threw Spider-Man in the air!" Rivalz was already standing on the table, acting like the White Knight throwing Spider-Man, sound effects included.

The entire student council was gathered in the usual place, even Kallen and Nunnally were present. Today was the day of the student council trip to Clovis Land, finally a good day of rest from the excitement of yesterday. At least, that's why Miles hoped it would be.

"We're all glad you got out okay Rivalz, but next time try to run away from the action instead of towards it." Lelouch said, as he flipped through the tickets in his hand.

"Miles, you're from the homeland. What do you know about Spider-Man?" Rivalz approached Miles who looked up from his phone. Milly, who had been content to let the conversation go on, had stopped what she was doing and looked at Miles.

"Oh, Spidey…um yeah I guess I know a bit about him. Well not this is one, I guess. This guy is a mystery." Miles tried to wave off the conversation.

"This one?" Nunnally asked, keen on picking apart his words. Miles inwardly cringed at letting that slip.

"You mean there was another?" Shirley asked as she packed the cooler with drinks, suddenly getting interested in the topic at hand.

"I'm curious as well, I've been doing some light reading. Surely someone who's lived there can give a better account." Lelouch said, putting down a magazine.

"Er, yeah I guess I can," Miles said sheepishly, not liking the sudden attention. "Well, there was another Spider-Man before the current one. He was a guy from Queens, his name was Peter. Peter Parker."

"Was he also a superhero like this one?!" Rivalz asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah. He fought super villains and saved the city a lot, though he didn't only save the city. He looked out for the small guys. I remember when I was younger a kid in my class bragged about meeting Spider-Man. Peter was just that kinda guy." A small smile grew on his face.

"Where do they take these super villains? I can't imagine leaving them with the general population is safe." Lelouch asked, Miles looked back to Lelouch – smile now gone.

"They have a special prison, off the cost of New York, they call it the Raft. Huge prison that's extra high security. Each cell is made with the prisoner in mind. I remember once they tried to make Electro power the city grid…we didn't have electricity for a week."

"And what, they just leave them there?" Kallen asked.

"Well, yeah. They're villains, not like they'll enlist in the army. And most of them are plain people with super suits. Only a couple handful are really superhuman." Miles had to thank what otherworldly beings that there weren't many superhumans like Electro. He's a pain as is.

"I think we should stop grilling Miles with questions and focus on our plan today. It's already noon and we'll be expecting a crowd. Lelouch is everything packed?" Milly asked, saving Miles from the barrage of questions. Miles inwardly thanked her.

"Everything is ready. Oh, the car is still in the parking lot. Sayako is still getting all the towels from the laundry room so she's busy at the moment."

"Miles, can you go and get it? We'll meet you outside in a few minutes." Miles agreed and left the council room.

The sky was bright and the sun high, a perfect day.

"Damn it!" A loud slam reverberated across the walls; Miles turned towards the sound to see the source.

"Jacob?" The guy rolled away from the deans' office, steaming mad by the looks of it.

Miles followed him out the door, he didn't even bother to look behind him.

"Hey, Jacob, you good?" Miles walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Miles? Oh, haven't seen you in a while. Been busy?" He asked.

"You could say that. So, what was that back there?" Miles pointed back inside.

"Dean Ashford, he-he dismissed my entire paper. He refused to fund my entire work!" Jacob threw his hands in the air, surely filled with anger.

"Your work? You mean DNA splicing?" Miles wasn't entirely familiar with the science behind it, but he heard enough to understand the basics.

"Years of research just casually tossed aside. That bastard doesn't understand how much time and effort I poured into it." Jacob rolled down the ramp, defeated.

"It's not the end, maybe you just need to tweak it or- "

"NO, it's perfect as is. Sorry Miles, but I'm outta here. I'll see you in class next week." Jacob rolled away, not looking back. All Miles could do was feel bad for him.

**Yesterday, The Black Knights HQ**

The news was raving about the events at Babel Tower, and with it were three prominent figures. It was a golden moment.

"Heroes take down local crime boss responsible for Black Knights rip-off. Huh, the media are really eating this up." Kallen read the banner on the television the Black Knights surrounded.

Everyone, bar Rogers, was watching the media cover Babel Tower.

"Diethard, I'd like you to post that video I had you make with Captain Rogers. Make sure you send it out on the net anonymously, use extra precaution." Diethard turned to Zero, awe in his eyes.

"Amazing." Diethard muttered as he understood everything.

"Amazing? What's so amazing about posting a vid?" Tamaki asked.

"You knew sending in Rogers would put him in the spotlight, and you're using this occasion as an opportunity to prop him up in the media. They wouldn't be able to resist." Kallen pieced together the puzzle Zero had set up.

"Wow, that's…that actually is amazing." Ohgi said watching Zero stare at the television.

"Free exposure is always good exposure, as the old saying goes." Diethard said as he left the room.

**Present, Clovis Land**

"It's perfect!" Milly threw her hands in the air as everyone had finally gathered inside the waterpark.

"Can't help but agree Milly." Lelouch strolled up with Nunnally, a smile on her face.

"There's so many people." Nina said, looking around as more people poured into the waterpark.

"That's not gonna stop us! We're here to relax and have fun, so go forth with my blessing!" Milly pointed to the park with a grand gesture fitting of her position. All it really did was cause a few eyes to turn in confusion.

"Perhaps we can ease down the shouting, prez. Sayako, and I will find us a table to put our stuff at, the rest of you can go change in the dressing rooms. Milly, do you mind helping Nunnally into her swimsuit?" Lelouch asked.

"Of course, just be sure to find seating fast. I'm actually hankering for something to eat." Milly grabbed Nunnally's wheelchair and the group went their separate ways.

Elsewhere in the park, Suzaku sat up awkwardly in his swim trunks with Cecile casually lounging on one of the beach chairs.

"You sure it's fine to act so casually Miss Cecile?" Suzaku asked, trying to keep a modicum of professionalism.

"Oh, it's fine Suzaku, no one knows the princesses will be here today. Just relax for once, consider it your reward for the other day. People have been raving about the 'White Knight' on the news. Looks like you're a hit with the public." Cecile commented, keen on relaxing in the sun.

"They only think that way because they don't know it's me in the pilot's seat." Suzaku said.

"Oh, right." That brought the mood down a little in an otherwise happy place.

"Suzaku?" Behind him, a familiar voice called out. Suzaku turned to see none other than Lelouch and his maid standing behind them.

"Lelouch, what are you doing here?" Suzaku asked.

"I could ask you the same, aren't you supposed to be working?" Lelouch found it odd to see his old friend in his swim trunks alongside his boss.

"Oh, me and Miss Cecile are on break." It has a half-truth; they were technically on break from their usual work, but only to be a part of the security detail for Cornelia and Euphemia.

"Hello again." Cecile waved at Lelouch from her beach chair.

"I have a party with me, I hope I'm not intruding if I set up at this table." Suzaku shook his head so Lelouch and Sayako set their things down.

"So, what are you doing here Lelouch? I can't remember the last time you ever took in interest in water parks." Suzaku watched as the two relieved the bags off their shoulders.

"School trip, exclusive to the student council. We raised more than enough money for our prom, so we convinced the Dean to let us use the extra money." With all the bags set on the table, Lelouch and Sayako sat down to enjoy the area.

"Hey Lelouch, you got a spot!" Behind them the rest of the student council arrived, with Milly being the loudest.

"We've got good seats, and good company." Lelouch motioned to Suzaku, who simply waved.

Suzaku looked at the rather large group of people, he recognized Milly and Miles, but the rest were unknown to him. The one that stood out the most, or tried not to, was the meek girl behind Miles. She wasn't like Nunnally, more like she was…scared?

"Oh, Suzaku, good to see you. Ms. Croomy, how are you doing?" Milly and Cecile exchanged pleasantries leaving Miles to Suzaku.

"Wassup man?" Miles nodded his head to Suzaku, the others said hello as well, except the meek girl.

"Sayako and I will be right back after we change, you good holding the fort Miles?" Lelouch asked as he and Sayako picked up their respective bags.

"Sure, I'll watch the bag while you're gone. I've been meaning to work on my suntan." Miles sarcastically remarked.

"Thanks for staying Morales-san." Sayako did a small bow and left with Lelouch.

"That means Mister…right?" Miles asked.

"It does, are you studying Japanese?"

"Yeah, I had some language-barrier problems the other day, if I'm gonna live in Area 11 for the next few years…may as well learn the language." Miles reasoned, leaving out the fact that he was under the guise of Spider-Man at the time.

"It'll definitely be helpful; Japanese is a beautiful language. Though I may be biased." Miles chucked.

"You two are getting along quite well." Lelouch came back in a loose jacket and speedo, honestly Miles didn't expect that from Lelouch.

"You have good friends Lelouch, um…you mind if we talk for a sec? In private? It's something personal." Lelouch turned silent and nodded. The two of them walked away outside of hearing range.

"You seem to be getting along quite well with Suzaku." Cecile remarked as she lies on her beach chair, content with soaking in the sun.

"What can I say, he seems like a good guy." Miles shrugged.

"Truth be told, Suzaku doesn't have many friends for a growing boy. When he and Lelouch met I was relieved, and now you and he are growing a budding friendship. Suzaku is a good kid, and I'm glad more people are realizing it."

"You really care for him." A small smile grew on Cecile's face.

"I guess it's just my motherly instincts." The two of them were content with leaving the conversation there.

Behind them, Suzaku and Lelouch had a quiet conversation. "Your sisters are here, you should be okay here, it's pretty far." Suzaku pointed to the mainstage, it was empty now but Lelouch was still worried.

"Thank you Suzaku, I'll let Sayako and Nunnally know." The two of them nodded and walked back.

**x-x**

"Euphemia, I indulged your swimsuits, now hurry up and get out of the dressing room!" Cornelia shouted from the other side of the door.

"One moment!" Euphemia called back.

"Busy at the moment princess?" Tony asked over the phone.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, so what have you learned about the ring?" Euphemia asked, curious about what Stark had learned from the magic ring.

"Well, it's super old. Like _old_ -old, before the pyramids old. It's made of some really rare space-metals, some I don't think have even been named. By the way, how does Starkium sound? Tonyium maybe?" Euphemia sighed; Stark's ego never wavered.

"Can we get back on subject? Any ideas where it came from?"

"Well that's a considerably harder task. You said you got the ring from your Great-Grandmother, so I've been going over the history books…well JARVIS has, but the result is zilch. I got no clue where this ring came from or what it is. What I _did_ find was a painting of her, the only painting of her with the ring on. It's dated around 7 decades ago, about the time when you're Great-Grandmother would be around 30. So, I did some cross-referencing and found out she went to Asia around the time of the painting. So that's where my research is going next."

"Good, I'll want updates as soon as something changes."

"Euphemia!" Cornelia called from outside.

"Coming! Keep me updated Stark." Euphemia closed the phone and put it in her bag as she left the room, for now it was time to keep up appearances.

**x-x**

"This water park is in honor of our late brother Clovis, who dedicated his life to the homelands wealth and arts. It is a testament to Britannian strength…" Cornelia's speech went on as Miles floated in the wave pool, Milly to his side and Rivalz to hers.

"Jeez, I thought your dad gave boring speeches. This is even worse." Miles told Milly, she could only chuckle.

"If it was my choice, I'd liven it up a bit with some theatrics, I think the royal family could use some good P.R." Milly's face looked like she already had plans.

"Getting mixed up with the Royal family is a quick ticket to a headache, don't bother Milly." Rivalz shook his head disapprovingly.

"I think you mean romantic and exciting, the kinds of scandals that I can get up to is tempting." Milly swooned.

"Your scandals would probably bankrupt the entire country Milly." Miles joked; Milly only jabbed him with her elbow.

At the stage, Cornelia had finished her speech, and the audience clapped.

"By the way, where is everyone?" Miles looked left and right, searching for the rest of the council.

"Lelouch and Nunnally are with Suzaku, they decided to give some time for herself. Kallen decided to swim down the lazy river, and Shirley took Nina to one of the slides." Rivalz counted each person on his hand.

"Well I hope Nina is having fun, that girl is shier than a turtle." Milly shook her head.

**x-x**

**Black Knights Hangar**

Ohgi opened his lunch box, and it was the most delicious thing he'd seen that day. "That woman…" He smiled as he silently thanked her and dug in.

"Hey boy, you're needed at…" Inoue stopped as she stumbled upon Ohgi eating. "I'll let you finish." He slurped up his food and stood up.

"What is it?" Ohgi asked.

"Well…" Inoue was stopped as more footsteps approached them.

"Are you Kaname Ohgi?" Behind her was the Four Holy Swords from the J.L.F.

"The Four Holy Swords, what are…?" Ohgi did a quick bow as the one he recognized as Nagisa Chiba cut him off.

"Our leader, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, has been captured. We've come to request the aid of The Black Knights." Ohgi was stunned, the great Tohdoh was captured? This was bad if he died than it would surely be a blow to Japan.

"Stay right here, I'll call Zero." Ohgi took his phone from his pocket and walked away.

"Your leader isn't here?" Ryōga Senba, the oldest of the Holy Swords, asked.

"Zero works in mysterious ways, bringing in Britannian's, working in the shadows…he doesn't tell us much, even when we're supposed to trust him. But he gets results, so we continue to follow orders. Sorry, I'm venting feel free to sit down while we get in touch with Zero." Inoue escorted them to a pile of boxes, the Holy Swords humbly accepted it.

Across the room, Ohgi dialed the number Zero gave him and called. It rang only once before the call was picked up.

"Ohgi." His name was the only confirmation of the call.

"Sorry for calling Zero, but we have some developments." Ohgi said.

"What kind?"

"The Four Holy Swords have come to us for help, apparently their leader Kyoshiro Tohdoh, has been captured. They request help to free him." Ohgi informed him.

"His capture and death would be harmful to the Japanese spirit. If the man behind the miracle of Istukushima were to die, it would be a considerable victory for Britannia. Tell the Holy Swords we accept their request." Ohgi smiled and turned to the Holy Sword with an okay.

"Thank you Zero."

"I still have business to take care of it'll be a couple of days before I return, be sure to acquaint the Holy Swords with the Black Knights. In the meantime, I will create a plan to free the colonel."

"Lulu!" The sound of a girl shouted in the background of the call, Ohgi raised his brow in confusion.

"I'll call you later." The call abruptly ended, leaving Ohgi alone.

**x-x**

**Clovisland**

Lelouch quickly closed his phone and turned back to Shirley. The sky was growing more orange than blue, and everyone was gathering at their table. He hoped Ohgi didn't hear Shirley.

"Sorry Shirley, I was taking a call." Lelouch and Shirley walked back to the group plus Suzaku and Cecile.

"So, what exactly is a prom?" Suzaku asked in between bites of his funnel cake.

"Prom is the highlight of your school career!" Milly threw her hands up in a flourish.

"It's really just a high school thing, but Milly never really let go of it, so she petitioned the Dean to make one for the college. It's like a big dance, with food and drinks." Miles finished his ice cream with a large bite.

"Petitioned? More like she forced Rueben to accept it. Along with the cross-dressing day, the valentine's festival…" Rivalz counted on his hand.

"So many festivals, so little time." Milly swooned.

"Have you never been to a prom before, Suzaku?" Rivalz asked.

"Well, no not really. I didn't really do much in high school. Just got my degree and went into the military." Suzaku finished up the last of his funnel cake.

"What a tragedy. I cannot let this stand!" Milly stood up and pointed at Suzaku, causing him to sit up straight. "As student council president, I order you to come to our prom!"

"Uhm-?"

"He'll be happy to, right Suzaku?" Cecile spoke up immediately before Suzaku had any time to neglect.

"So, it's settled! We'll see you tomorrow night!" Milly sat back down, content with herself, Suzaku looked like he wanted to say no but the words did not come out of his mouth.

"Don't bother trying to argue, when Milly has her mind set it's impossible to say no." Miles looked to Milly smirking to herself, like it was a victory.

"I'll be sure he's ready." Cecile said, by this point Suzaku had failed to voice his objections.

Soon the day came close to the afternoon at it was time to go, Miles couldn't help but smile as he enjoyed the day off.

"Come now, honey, it's time to go." A mother pulled her soon away from one of the pool swings, the boy resisted.

"But I wanna play Spider-Man again!" He whined as he was pulled away, Miles smile grew a little larger.

"Hey, we're all packed up. You ready?" Milly came from behind him, pointing to the exit.

"Did you see that, Milly? I can't help but think Peter would be proud." Miles said wistfully.

"Well, I know I am. You're doing some real good Miles, don't forget it." Miles turned to the exit and left with Milly.

**x-x**

**Connors Residence**

Jacob sat in his makeshift-lab in the basement, staring at the screen. The dose would take a day to complete, but if his calculations were correct. He'd finally prove his work to all the doubters, and what better way to show it off than at the prom?

"It's all coming together." Jacob said as he watched his machines shake and stir.

**Next chapter….Prom Night.**


	23. Stage 12: Prom Night(mare)

**And now starts the next chapter of our story, excited to finally show what I've been working up.**

**A.S.E.E.C. Hangar**

"Are you sure this is okay Ms. Cecile?" Suzaku looked himself up and down the mirror, the suit fit well. But he felt bad for making Cecile buy it.

"Oh quiet, you needed to get one eventually. If you're going to be an ace pilot, you'll eventually be invited to dinners and parties. Just think of this as training, go out and mingle. Have some fun. You seem to be fond of Lelouch and Nunnally." Cecile brushed the hems of his suit.

"They're old friends, I can be comfortable around them." Suzaku argued.

"Well make new friends, that Miles kid seemed to like you well enough. Broaden your horizons, Suzaku. You'll never know who you might meet, every stranger is an interesting character in your life. Now come on, I'll drop you off." Cecile walked out of the hangar to her car, Suzaku stood in contemplation. Perhaps he did need to find new friends outside of work.

The car ride to Ashford was relatively quiet, save for the radio news. When they got to Ashford the atmosphere changed very quickly. Bright colorful lights shone from the buildings that pierce the night sky, a steady feed of kids his age poured into the entrance with colorful dresses and suits. Milly said this was a prom, but if he didn't know he would swear this would be an extravagant ball filled with dignitaries and important political figures. Except with more color.

"That girl does not know the meaning of subtlety." Cecile said as she viewed the school. "Well, what are you waiting for? You have that invitation Milly gave you, go on and head in. Call me when it's over and I'll pick you up." Suzaku quickly thanked Cecile and exited the car. He watched it drive off and pulled out the invitation he was given the other day.

" _Here!" Milly handed him a piece of paper torn from her journal. On it was a crudely written invitation to their prom, signed and named by Milly Ashford herself._

" _For me?" Suzaku asked._

" _Uhuh! You are hereby invited to Milly's Grand Prom! Don't even think about skipping out on it. Just show this to the boys at the front entrance and they'll let you in. If they give you any trouble, tell them that Milly will halve the budget of the gardening club! I've been meaning to do it anyway, so you'll be doing me a favor." Milly gave a smirk, as if she were planning something._

" _Let's go Milly!" Shirley called from their car. Milly gave a quick bye and left, with the piece of paper still in Suzaku's hands._

Suzaku thumbed the piece of papers took a breath in and out, "Well, here we go." Suzaku approached the front gate. There was a bit of a line, so Suzaku waited. He got some stares, but no one said anything. By the time it was his turn he simply showed them the piece of paper he was given.

The boy didn't seem impressed, "This is your ticket?" He asked.

"Yeah, Milly just tore it from her journal." Suzaku scratched the back of his head.

"Okay, next." The boy motioned for the next person to come up.

"Milly also mentioned something about cutting the gardening club's budget in half." Suzaku said, that froze the boy. He quickly stamped the piece of paper with some ink and handed him a brochure.

"Have a nice day, sir!" Suzaku thanked him and entered the academy grounds. People walked and talked together; he felt a little out of place. But the closer he got to the building the clearer he can hear the music.

"Suzaku you made it!" To his right he spotted Miles and Shirley, both in a relatively modest suit and dress.

"Hey Suzaku, I hope you got here alright." Shirley said as she approached, her dress was a dark orange red. Like the color of the leaves during the fall. Seeing as it was the end of summer, he supposed it was appropriate. Miles wore a plain suit and tie. Suzaku felt like that fit him more than anything.

"It was a bit of a rush to find a suit for me, but everything went pretty smoothly." Suzaku picked at his attire, it was nothing flashy. A white suit and gold tie, Cecile thought it was funny to match with the Lancelot.

"I think you look great, come inside I'm sure Milly is about to send someone to fetch you by now." Shirley motioned for Suzaku to join them, and he did.

"So, are you two going together?" Suzaku asked.

"Yeah, she asked me out of the blue. I was planning to go alone and hang out but saying no seemed a little rude." Miles shrugged.

"I can always depend on you Miles, unlike some people." She muttered the end of her sentence, gaining her a pair of confused looks.

The three of them dropped the conversation there as they entered the building, and to Suzaku's surprise it was even more extravagant than he'd first thought.

On the far side of the room were large speakers, easily twice his size, booming music. In between them was a DJ booth currently playing something he'd heard on the radio. In front of the DJ booth was the dance floor where people were currently enjoying swaying to the music. To the left side of the room was a food stand, where he spotted Rivalz and Lelouch handing out food. To the right and scattered around the gym were tables.

"Wow, I think this is the largest gym I've ever seen." Suzaku said.

"You should see the pool." Shirley as the continued to move on.

"You guys have a pool?" Suzaku asked as he caught back up with them.

**x-x**

**Black Knights Hangout**

Kallen slouched on the couch, content with being bored. Her phone was currently filled with pictures of the school prom she decided not to go to. Sometimes being frail was a benefit.

"Hello there Kallen." To her left Rogers entered the vehicle (she often asked whether it was a bus or RV, maybe a combination of both?). He looked to be wearing his combat uniform, and his shield strapped to his back.

"Cap, didn't know you went out." Kallen said as she put her phone down.

"Zero tasked me with cleaning up some stragglers from a few days ago, at this rate all major drug dealers and gangs will be scattered." Steve was content with his work.

"So, you gonna tell us what that is about?" Kallen pointed to the red, white and blue shield on his back.

"Oh, this is my shield. Back during the war. Er, Washington's Rebellion." Steve pulled it from his back and walked to the couch opposite of Kallen. Nothing seemed extraordinary from it, the metal was coated in paint and it had a large white star in the middle.

"That thing is over 200 years old?" She asked, it wouldn't be the only thing in this room.

"It is, it was made by a good friend back then. It's one-of-a-kind." Cap twirled it in his hands, it didn't look like it.

"How so?" Kallen asked.

"It's made with a very special metal, vibranium."

"Vibranium?" She never heard of it before, "What makes it so special?"

"Vibranium is the strongest metal on earth, stronger than even the toughest of Knightmare frames and light too. I don't know too much about the metal, but I do know that it absorbs kinetic energy, and can release it too. Watch." Cap tossed it to the other side of the room, and the discus went flying. As it hit the wall, she expected it to fall to the ground. Instead it bounced right back to Rogers' hand.

"Pretty cool." Kallen said.

"The shield has been good to me; I can't imagine myself without it. Kinda like with you and your Guren." Kallen thought of herself in a Knightmare like the Holy Swords used and couldn't imagine using it over the Guren.

"I guess you're right, it's kinda like wearing a glove not your size. Just doesn't feel right."

"Exactly." Steve snapped his fingers.

"Kozuki-san, any word from Zero?" From the stairs, Senba walked down to talk. But he stopped as he took notice of Steve. His relax demeanor straightened up, he looked proud.

"Not yet, Senba-san. He said he'll rendezvous with us tomorrow, we'll get Tohdoh-san back before he's killed. I promise." Senba seemed to accept the explanation and walked away.

"Still on the edge I see." Steve said.

"Give them some time, they'll see you put in more work than anyone here." Kallen said.

Compared to when they first met, this was an improvement. The Holy Swords looked like they were ready to kill Steve. Though she doubts they could come close to it outside their Knightmares. Perhaps even in them as well.

"As long as we can keep a professional relationship, that's fine with me." Steve sat back, content to sit back.

A notification rang on Kallen's phone, a pic from Shirley showing herself with Miles and Suzaku with an attached "Wish you were here!". Kallen groaned and slouched back to the couch.

"Problems with civilian life?" Steve asked.

"You can say that."

"Ohgi told me you attend a school; I'm surprised someone as devoted as yourself would." Kallen agreed, she would immediately drop out of school, but…

"I made a promise, to my brother. He wanted me to grow up and live comfortably. I wanted to work along side him to fight our country, but he refused. As a compromise, he made me promise to go to school and he'll let me in on his plans. When he died…I don't know I just felt like breaking that promise would insult his memory. It's also a really good cover story." That last sentence got a chuckle out of Steve.

"I know the feeling. Back before I was…this," Steve motioned to his costume, "I was just a kid from Brooklyn. Contrary to what many people might assume, I wasn't always muscle."

"No." Kallen chuckled.

"It's true, before I was Captain America, I was just a scrawny kid. I was prideful too; a lot like the Japanese. I had a friend who always pull me out, Bucky. Best friend someone could ask for. When the war started, he signed up, I wasn't fit enough to fight. So, I had to cheat." The memories of stuffing his shoes with socks resurfaced, he laughed at it.

"Never heard of anyone cheating to get to fight in a war."

"Well, I guess you can say I was a bit patriotic. Anyway, long story short, I became Captain America and fought alongside Bucky. Unfortunately, he died in battle. Never found his body. So, I understand how you feel. Sometimes you can't really fill the void the people closest to you leave behind." Kallen gave a weak smile.

"Thanks. You're really good at giving speeches." Steve laughed.

"Ha, I guess I am."

**x-x**

**Connors Household**

Jacob marveled at the simple syringe in his hands, it was finally done. How many years has it taken just to consolidate his work into this one syringe? Six? Seven years? So many late nights, so many 'It's morning?' talks. All leading to this. Life beyond his chains.

"Jacob, dinners ready!" His father called.

"One moment!" He shouted up to the living room.

He pointed the syringe to his thigh, anxiety filling him up as he inched closer. His heart pounded into his ears, it felt like it was about to jump out of his chest. His hands felt clammy, he suddenly felt sweaty. And just as the tip touch his skin, he reeled back and put the syringe back on his lab table.

Jacob took a deep breath, unaware that he had stopped breathing.

"Jacob?" Behind him, his father Kurt, walked down.

"Oh, hey dad." Jacob turned to his father, anxiety filling his face.

"Something wrong? Dinners ready, and your mother is worried." Kurt looked for a place to sit, but there was none so he leaned against another of the lab tables.

"It's nothing I…my grant was denied. The Dean rejected it." Kurt sighed, the look of understand across his face.

"Ha, grants. I remember when I was your age trying to do the same thing you're doing." The memories brought a smile to his face.

"Dad." Jacob groaned.

"Sorry, I don't have much to help on that end. But what I do have is advice." Kurt leaned forward and put both his hands on his son's shoulders.

"Stick to your guns, son. Trust your heart to guide you, and never give up. You've been strong, even after the crash. Your legs may be gone, but this…" Kurt pointed to Jacob's head. "This never went away."

"Thanks dad." Jacob smiled.

"Any day. Now hurry on up, it's meatloaf." Kurt walked upstairs; Jacob went to follow but his hands froze.

His eyes drifted back to the syringe. "Trust your heart." Jacob murmured. He strolled back to the desk and grabbed the syringe, positioning it to his thigh. "I trust my heart." Jacob said as he jabbed the syringe in and injected the formula.

The effects were immediate, pain shot through his body as his bones broke and reshaped themselves. He dropped from his wheelchair onto the floor howling in pain, he didn't even hear his parents come down. His face was in agony as it reformed, his teeth felt like needles in his mouth. And the only things he thought of was Dean Ashford and the prom as he let out a roar.

**x-x**

**Ashford Academy**

Miles was not a dumb guy; he could see when he was being played. So, when he was awkwardly and obviously put to the dancefloor with Shirley (by the girl herself) he knew something was up. Call it a hunch.

"He's not even looking." Shirley said as her view was focus on none other than the raven-haired gambler.

"Y'know Shirley, I value our friendship, but I think it's time we stopped this." Shirley whipped her head back to Miles in confusion.

"What? But…"

"Look, I know who you really want to dance with." Miles looked at Lelouch who was currently helping Nunnally eat.

"Was it that obvious?" She said.

"Kinda, look why don't you just ask him for a dance?" The two of them made their way off the dancefloor to talk.

"What if it gets awkward, or I ruin our relationship? I can't bear the humility!" Shirley put her hands to her face in abject horror.

"Sometimes, you just gotta shoot your shot. If he says no, well than that's on him. You're a good friend, and I'm sure Lelouch knows that. You keep him on his toes, he'd be lucky to have you." Shirley took her hands away from her face.

"You think so?" She asked.

"Of course. Look, you just ask for a dance, I have something in mind." An idea was already brewing in his head. Shirley quickly gave Miles a hug and unlatched.

"Thanks Miles!" She hurried to where Lelouch sat.

"Ah, young love." Miles said.

"You!" Behind him was an authoritative voice, and as he turned around, he found the face a blonde-haired girl.

"Me?" Miles asked.

"You better not have told anyone." She pointed her finger at him aggressively.

"Told anyone? What are…" Than it clicked, "Oh, you're Gwen." The image of a drummer came to his mind. She looked so different with a dress on than a grunge get-up.

"Now you remember." She folded her arms.

"Hey, I ain't a judge. I actually thought it was pretty cool, self-expression y'know."

"I don't care, never tell anyone." She warned, it seemed empty, but it wasn't like his life depended on it.

"My lips are sealed." Miles motioned zipping his mouth, she didn't seem impressed, but it was what she wanted to hear.

"Good, I don't need my dad hearing about this." She left the conversation at that and walked away.

"Jeez." He scanned the room for Shirley and found her sitting with Lelouch. But she didn't seem like she was asking for a dance. "Oh Shirley."

"Having a good time Morales?" To his right, the P.E. teacher Mr. Thompson sat in a wheelchair.

"Oh, Mr. Thompson, sorry I didn't see you." Eugene waved it off like nothing.

"Ah, it's nothing. And please, just call me Flash. I think it fits me better now anyway." Miles didn't know whether to laugh or not. "Jeez kid, it's a joke."

"Oh, sorry. Didn't want to bring it up." Miles sighed; Flash seemed to enjoy the tease.

"I've got no problem with it, seems like everyone else does though."

"So, enjoying the prom?" Miles asked.

"Didn't really get to see my last one, it got wrecked. So, this is a much nicer change of pace." Flash took a sip from his cup of water.

"What happened? Some kids trash the tables or something?" Flash chuckled at the suggestion.

"Actually, it was Spider-Man and some guy called Kraven. Messed the whole place up, but I got a really cool night out of it. So, I guess we're even." Miles turned to Flash.

"Yeah, pretty cool. Ugh, sorry Mr. Thompson, I gotta go to the DJ Booth." Miles left Flash, giving him some alone time.

_We crave._

Flash sighed and took a bar of chocolate our and ate it. Supposedly some chemical compound in it was beneficial to symbiotes.

_Thanks._

"No problem." Flash said to himself.

As Miles got to the DJ Booth, he spotted their DJ scrolling through a list of songs.

"Hey, I can take it from here, go ahead and take a break." The man thanked him as he dropped his headphones and left.

' _Alright, just gotta look for it aaaand gotcha.'_ Miles found what he was looking for and put the headphones on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your student council member Miles Morales, I think it's about time we slowed things down for a bit. Don't you?" A few 'yeahs' emanated from the crowd.

"Then get your dancing buddies and head to the dancefloor!"

With people flooding the dancefloor, Miles pressed play.

"Ooh ooh, some things you can't refuse~." Miles hummed to the song, he looked up to scan the floor and spotted some familiar faces. Milly with Rivalz, Suzaku with Nunnally surprisingly, Nina was nowhere to be seen. And unfortunately, not dancing was Lelouch and Shirley, who both sat at a table.

"That poor girl." Miles said.

The beat of the gym was really inspiring, it felt like the floor was really rumbling.

_**BEHIND YOU** _

Miles did a somersault before he knew it, the wall behind him blew up. The DJ booth was thrashed, and the perpetrator was a 7-foot-tall lizard…thing.

"RAAAAAAAGH!" It roared furiously.

It swiped left and right, regardless of what was in the way. It picked up one of the speakers and hurled it to the wall. Luckily, everyone in the way dodged, but this was no time to stand still.

"Everyone, evacuate to the south end!" Miles yelled.

Screams filled the gym; Miles need to get out and change fast. He ran into the crowd, looking for anyone.

"Miles!" To his right Milly and Rivalz ran up to him, both with worried expression.

"Holy crap man! You just…" Rivalz didn't finish his sentence as Milly interrupted him.

"Miles, go call the cops! I'll safely get everyone out of here." Miles understood and ran into the crowd once again, this time camouflaging himself to slip away.

"Alright Milly let's…" Rivalz was interrupted yet again when bullets were fired. The two of them cupped their ears and turned to the sound.

Appearing from nowhere was a man in black and white and one big rifle.

"I don't know what you are, but you're going down." The man raised his rifle again and shot.

"Let's go Milly!" Rivalz grabbed Milly's hand and ran to the exit.

Agent Venom looked the monster up and down. It was large, perhaps seven feet. It wore a white coat and torn pants. Its skin was covered by green scales. Its face looked like an alligator, and it had the teeth to back it up.

_THWIP THWIP_

Two white globs were shot at the gun Agent Venom was holding, and another at the mouth of that monster.

"Great, two pains in my but. Don't you guys ever announce yourselves? At least give me a time and date." At the ceiling was Spider-Man, shaking his head disapprovingly.

The green monster picked up a table and threw it at Spider-Man with a roar. Its target easily jumped out of the way and all three of them stood in the middle of the gym.

"I'm not here for you, not yet anyway." The monster charged swiping his claws at Venom, the two clashed and it took the better part of Venoms strength to keep it from slashing him apart.

"Oh, that's good, that certainly makes up for last time." Spider-Man webbed a tabled and slammed it to the side of the monster. It was pushed off Agent Venom, but it wasn't done yet.

"Assssforrrrd!" It hissed and roared at the same time.

"Ashford?" Spider-Man asked as it sniffed the air. It turned its head to Spider-Man and charged.

"RRAAAAAGH!" It roared as Spider-Man dodged out of the way, but instead of turning back to him it continued running.

"It's going after Ashford." Agent Venom surmised and ran after it.

"Damn it!" Spider-Man swore after realizing he just let the monster get the head start.

The monster ran threw the halls, trashing it in the meantime. Agent Venom and Spider-Man ran together in hot pursuit.

"This doesn't make up for killing me!" Spider-Man said as he ran on the ceiling.

"I still plan on doing it." Agent Venom told him.

Spider-Man shot two web-lines to the monster and tackled him. Except tackle was an overstatement, all Spider-Man really did was give it a hug.

"Um, sorry?" The monster grabbed Spider-Mans arm and slammed him against the walls. It only stopped when Agent Venom gave it a large left hook to the face. The monster recoiled and used its tail to attack Agent Venom.

Unhindered, Spider-Man blinded it with webbing, making it reach for its face to cut it off.

"You're not welcomed in this establishment, buddy!" Spider-Man punched its chest, but it didn't look like it did much damage to the monster.

The monster swiped at him, causing Spider-Man to jump back. With a clear opening, Agent Venom unloaded a few rounds of his magnum into the monster. With the clip spent, he ejected the magazine. But before he could put another in a quick web-line snatched it from his hands.

"No guns." Spider-Man said as he threw it away.

"How are we gonna kill it if we can't shoot it?" Agent Venom complained, but there was no reply as the monster burst threw the hallway into the open field full of students.

"Protect the students!" Spider-Man ran towards the monster who in turn ran across the field of student sniffing.

"Hey, you overgrown lizard get back here!" Spider-Man zipped to the monster once again, this time keen to use his venom blasts. It roared in pain and clawed at him, trying to get him off.

Spider-Man shot two lines of webbing around the monster's neck and pulled back. Miles was never a fan of cowboys, but this very much felt like a bucking bull. "To the left, left I said!" Spider-Man pulled his makeshift reins back to the building, from behind Agent Venom tackled the monster back into the building.

"ASSSSSHFORRRRD!" It roared louder and shook off both spiders and ran down the hallway.

"Ow." Spider-Man rubbed his head as Agent Venom ran after the monster, before he could something caught his eye. It was a wallet. As he grabbed it and looked inside, dread filled him.

"That's Jacob." Spider-Man said as the photo I.D. of Jacob Connors fell to the ground. "What have you done?" Spider-Man said to himself as he watched Agent Venom fight the monster.

"Gah!" Agent Venom was sent flying by Jacob and continued to run after his target, Dean Ashford.

"Jacob Connors, stop!" Spider-Man called out as he gave chase, Jacob didn't care to respond or maybe couldn't. Either way, he continued running.

"I said stop!" Spider-Man zipped back to Jacob and wrangled him down, pinning his head down and restricting his right arm.

"Jacob, we can get you help! Listen to me!" It was a battle to restrict Jacob as whatever form he was in gave him incredible strength.

"ASSSHFORRRRD. DIIIIIIE!" Jacob spoke, his voice slowly breaking through the deep almost crocodilian rumble.

Jacob stood back up and slammed Spider-Man into the wall of the school so hard his head was inside a locker. His vision of blurry and embarrassingly took more than a couple seconds to get free.

"Ah!" The voice made Spider-Mans head spin, and the sight was no less good.

Nunnally in a wheelchair in the way of Jacob barreling towards her, obviously looking to move past her. But he doubted Jacob could think enough to consider moving around her.

"Nunnally!" Lelouchs voice came from the crowd, time seemed to crawl for Spider-Man as he judged the situation.

Jacob was a meter away from Nunnally, and he had a considerably large lead on him. By his estimates…there was no way he was going to reach her before Jacob did.

"I got you!" Like a brave knight, Suzaku tackled Nunnally out of the way. Fortunately, the only thing trampled was the wheelchair. Spider-Man could only sigh in relief, and once again chased after him as Jacob turned a corner.

Spider-Man jumped on the roof and cut the corner to see Jacob in the bright lights of a dozen or so police cars.

"Fire!" A voice behind the lights said, and a torrent of bullets hailed itself at Jacob.

"Stop!" Spider-Man jumped down, but Jacob had different ideas. He grabbed a nearby bike post and ripped it from the ground. He threw it at the police, stopping the firing squad. "Jacob Connors, you have to stop!" Spider-Man said.

Spider-Man couldn't understand what was going through Jacobs head, but he jumped over the police and into the a nearby sewer drain. "Damn it." Spider-Man looked down the sewer and saw no signs of him, not even a shredding of his clothes to indicate where he went.

"Spider-Man." The voice made him turn around, standing behind him was none other than the police chief George Stacy.

"Chief, plan on shooting at me again?" Spider-Man asked, looking behind him at the men and women who were brushing themselves off.

"Unfortunately, not this time. When we got the call of a big lizard acting Ashford Academy, you were the last thought I had." George holstered his pistol.

"Thanks, I guess." Spider-Man folded his arms together as George looked down at the destroyed sewer drain.

"Friend of yours, old rival?" George asked.

"No, it…he was a student at this school." That brought a confused look to his eyes.

"A student did this?" George motioned to the destruction left behind.

"Yeah, and I have a sinking suspicion how." George couldn't see, but a frown made its way to Spider-Man's face.

"Just because there's a big lizard running around, don't think I won't give up on taking you down." Spider-Man's ire was now directed at Stacy.

"Oh, so the corrupt police chief has ground now?" Spider-Man asked.

"Believe it or not, but some of us has things to live for. Or to lose." George pointed to the gathering crowd of students, mainly at a blonde girl with a black hairband. Gwen Stacy. The connection clicked instantly.

"A mob boss doesn't take the ear of a respected police chief without pressuring him first. Unfortunately, the last time I rejected his offers I lost a part of my family, she's all I have left. So today you did me a favor, but don't count on favors saving you." George walked away to attend to the students, the rest of the police made a perimeter around Ashford entrance as the first of the media began to arrive.

Inside his suit a chime rung, and Spider-Man answered.

"Hey, it's Milly. We made it out okay, how about you?" Milly asked over the call. Spider-Man camouflaged and jumped onto a nearby building, enough in the shadows to take off his mask and look over the situation.

"I'm fine, how about Nunnally? She had a pretty close call there, I feel bad I couldn't get to her on time." Miles swept the sweat building on his forehead away.

"Shaken, but she'll be alright. Suzaku was quick on his feet, we're grateful for him." Miles breathed a sigh of relief once again; this night had turned into a nightmare.

"What about Venom? Where is he?" From his viewpoint, he couldn't spot the symbiote anywhere.

"No clue, after the police arrived, he disappeared." The thought of Venom disguised in the crowd was enough to worry him, but he doubts whoever was in control of the symbiote was dumb enough to start a fight now.

"I have to go check up on Jacobs home, see if his parents know what happened. Keep me in touch okay?" Miles put his mask on and leapt from the building.

"Gotcha." Milly closed her phone and sighed as she attended to those in need.

"Did you get in touch with Miles?" Rivalz as, holding up another student.

"Yeah, he got some cuts but he's getting them look at." Rivalz breathlessly thanked whatever higher power there was for his survival.

Across the way he could see Nunnally holding onto Suzaku with white knuckles, unfortunately she wasn't the only one that saw it. To Lelouch, this was a failure of epic proportions. The one thing he set to change the world for was in danger, and for a brief moment he couldn't find Nunnally she almost died. But she didn't, and someone was there to save her. Her knight in white.

"It's okay, Nana. We're here." Suzaku was the strong knight Nunnally needed, not the duplicitous brother she had. She needed one that would be at her side whenever she needed him, not one that would be gone for days at a time.

"Suzaku…" Lelouch started but was interrupted when a hand grabbed him by the shoulders. Shirley stood behind him, cheeks red and shaking.

"Shirley? Are you…" He was cut off once again as Shirley's lips reached his for a moment before pulling back.

"I felt like I could have died, and if I did, I didn't want to leave things unsaid." Shirley looked as red as a tomato, and Lelouch was left in shock.

"Finally!" Milly said.

"Wait, did I miss it!" Rivalz exclaimed looking back and forth between Lelouch and Shirley.

"Oh, that what she meant." Suzaku said.

"What is it Suzaku?" Nunnally asked.

"Oh, um, well…" Suzaku whispered it into her ear, bringing a gasp from Nunnally.

"Lelouch, you can't! Not after the promise you made!" Nunnally cried out.

"Promise?" Shirley asked as she stared down Lelouch.

"No, wait! It's not what she meant!" Lelouch fervently shook his hands, trying to clear up the situation.

From a window above them C.C. casually ate a Pizza with Cheese-kun. "She's obviously head over heels for him." A voice rattled in her head.

"Yes Marianne, I think they'd make great babies." C.C. droned, unimpressed by her previous contractors' fascination with grandchildren.

**x-x**

**Connors Household**

When Spider-Man arrived at Jacobs house, he already knew nothing good would come of it. People were scattered on the street, looking at the building as Spider-Man landed.

"What happened here?" He asked a random man in his bathrobes.

"Oh Spider-Man! You wouldn't believe it, a big green monster burst out of that house! Trash the street and left. It was like nothing I'd ever seen!" Spider-Man nodded and entered the building.

It was a mess, the walls were scratched, furniture over-turned and broken. The dinner table was broken wood and spilt meat. As he turned into the kitchen though, a door leading down lie open. Examining it showed a wheelchair lift on the right side of the staircase, built into the wall.

As he climbed down a stench filled his nose, and as he reached the bottom…the scene assaulted his eyes. Blood. Lot's of it. And two corpses in the middle of the room, hardly identifiable. Spider-Man gagged and made his way back upstairs, the scene burned into his eyes.

"Oh god, Jacob what did you do?"

**I had a BLAST writing this chapter, I think I finished it in like two days. And it's 5k words so you know I put some work into it. The Cap and Kallen section was a bit impromptu and I really liked it. I feel like those two can have a lot of chemistry. Anyway, the new arc is now here. And ho boy is it gonna get bigger.**


	24. Stage 13: The Miracle Worker

**Area 11**

It wasn't long before the media had nicknamed the monster stalking Area 11's sewers. The Lizard. It wasn't very creative, but for Spider-Man it was concerning that the media had someone spun this into a spectacle. But that wasn't his specialty, his was punching bad guys in the face and right now The Lizard needed one badly.

"How many?" Spider-Man asked as he swung through the city on patrol.

"After three days on the loose, The Lizard has already racked up five deaths. The cops are having a hard time identifying the bodies." Spider-Man landed on a roof top as he scanned the streets below him.

"I have to find Jacob, the longer I don't the more people die. It's my fault."

"No, it's not Miles, Jacob did this to himself. Whatever he did was his fault, not yours." Spider-Man sighed, she may have been right, but it still didn't make him feel any better. "Um Miles, I think you want to watch the nearest TV."

"What?" Spider-Man jumped down to the street, scaring a few people as he did. He looked at a nearby storefront that had a display of flatscreen TV's. It was a news announcement.

"This is a special announcement from Viceroy Cornelia herself to Spider-Man, it is an invitation to meet at the top of the Government Bureau! No action will be made against Spider-Man. I repeat, Viceroy Cornelia humbly ask to meet with Spider-Man at the top of the Government Bureau." He heard enough and swung towards the location.

"You think it's legit?" Milly asked.

"Cornelia doesn't seem to be the manipulative type; I'd go as far as to say she's a blunt as a hammer. I can trust her to at least be straight with me." As he swung closer and closer to the bureau, he could see cop cars appear more and more often, likely to alert Cornelia of his presence.

At the Government Bureau, Cornelia stood waiting for Spider-Man. Darlton and Guilford stood with her. The police chief George Stacy stood with them as well, but he didn't look pleased with the situation.

"Are we sure he'll even come?" Darlton asked.

"The Spider-Man seems to be someone who sticks to his beliefs, I believe we can expect him to come." Guilford thought himself a good judge of character. And so far, Spider-Man lived up to his expectations.

"I believe he will as well." Cornelia spoke, a frown on her face.

"Oh, I'm touched you believe in me so much. Maybe next time you can be a little bit more subtle." Spider-Man's appeared from thin air to Cornelia's right, he gave a quick wave as he walked off the railing.

"Your majesty," Spider-Man did a mock bow, but as his eyes drifted, he spotted the rest of the entourage, "Captain Stacy." Spider-Man stood back up.

"Spider-Man." George said, respectively.

"I apologize for the sudden call, messaging you through the media seemed like the fastest way." Cornelia told him, he only shrugged.

"What did you want? A big spotlight in the sky with a spider?" George said sarcastically.

"Now that you say so, maybe we can put it on the roof of the police department."

"Enough, the more bickering means more people die. I need both of you to cooperate." Cornelia's voice was stern, it was time to get serious.

"I assume you're here about our mutual reptile problem?" Spider-Man asked.

"The Lizard, what a crass name." Guilford mocked the name; it was a bit on the nose for Spider-Man's taste.

"Yes, public reports say the death toll is current at five. Unfortunately, that's not the truth." Cornelia pulled a folder from her jacket and handed it to him.

"It's not?" Spider-Man took the folder and flipped through; the horrifying truth hurt.

"Thirty deaths, not counting any we haven't even found yet. This lizard is a menace that we must get rid of. Reports from Ashford Academy a few days ago shows that you may know who this is, one of your rogues?" Cornelia spoke as Spider-Man stared with horror at the names and faces of everyone who was killed.

"No, he's not one of mine, but I know who it is." Spider-Man handed the folder back, "His name is Jacob Connors, a student from Ashford."

"A student?" Darlton asked.

"Yeah, he was researching reptile DNA to segment the part of that repairs missing limbs."

"Why?" Cornelia asked.

"His legs, they were amputated about ten years ago. I found his medical records on a hospital database back in the mainland, apparently it was a car crash. It's not hard to guess that's why he started this in the first place." It wasn't an awfully hard motive to understand, Jacob made it abundantly clear he hated life in a wheelchair.

"Did you find anything else?" George asked, obviously as it's a part of his job.

"I found some physical notes, but other than that…well I'm sure your officers saw what was left behind." A grim look fell on George's face, the police arrived soon after Spider-Man arrived. They saw the same grisly scene he did.

"Do you have the notes on you?" Guilford asked, Spider-Man nodded and pulled it out one of compartments folded very tightly.

"I'm no biologists so I can hardly understand a quarter of what it says. More pressing is that this isn't the final formula, the computer he used was trashed. I'm having a hard time putting it back together, but for some reason there is no signs of any storage drives. So even if I did, we'll still be fumbling in the dark." Spider-Man shrugged; the missing memory was concerning because of its implications. Did Jacob really have control when he transformed into that monster?

"I believe we have an expert that can help." Darlton mentioned as the doors to the rooftop were abruptly opened as Tony Stark himself arrived.

"Speak of the devil." George groaned.

"Sorry I'm late, I was just finishing up theoretical DNA splicing. But I guess now you can say it's not very theoretical." It seemed Tony's ego arrived before he did, as always.

"Stark, can you decipher this?" Guilford handed over the formula, Tony took it and looked it up and down.

"This doesn't look like a final formula." He said as he turned it.

"It isn't, it's an early version." Spider-Man said.

"Oh, thanks kid. Short answer, no I can't. Long answer, it'll take me weeks to even begin to get close to solving this. The final formula could be anything." Tony handed it back, Cornelia shook her head in disapproval.

"We don't have weeks; we need an answer fast." A fast answer…hmm.

"I think I know someone who can help us." Spider-Man said.

"Who? I'll have them brought to Area 11 immediately." Coming from Cornelia, he believed she could, but even the power of a princess of Britannia can't get him.

"I don't think you can, this guy doesn't really take house calls. And he's not Britannian." The signs clicked for Tony and he groaned.

"Ugh, not him." Tony messaged his head.

"Who are you talking about?" Cornelia asked confused.

"Reed Richards, head of the Future Foundation. He's a close friend of mine and happens to owe me a favor."

"He's also a weirdo, no normal person goes to space and comes back with stretchy arms." Stark waved his hands in an attempt to imitate Reed's powers. Of course, it left Cornelia confused.

"That doesn't negate the fact that he is the smartest man on the planet, if anyone can figure this out it's him." Stark didn't like the declaration, but he bit back his retort.

"How reliable is Richards?" Cornelia asked.

"Very reliable and trustworthy. I'll consult with him and see what we can do about Connors, in the meantime we're gonna have to mitigate attacks." Cornelia agreed and nodded.

"In an hour I'll be announcing a curfew, I've already ordered an increase in police patrols as well. The military is also spread thin, between the Black Knights and the Chinese Federation, we have a laundry list of security issues. I hate to ask for a favor again…"

"Then don't, protecting the city is free of charge. All I ask is that you reign in the boys in blue, can't very well do my job when I could be arrested." Spider-Man walked to ledge preparing to swing away.

"Done. I trust I can leave Richards to you?" Cornelia asked.

"Of course, you can always trust your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." He walked off the ledge and swung away.

**x-x**

**Ashford Academy**

Ashford was quiet after Prom night; classes were shut down and many of the students decided to live with their family off campus.

"…luckily, the insurance can cover for the gym wall, however catering and other amenities are coming out of pocket. Not accounting for the loss of students…it's not great." Milly sat down in her seat exhausted.

"This is a nightmare." Rivalz slouched in his chair, exhausted as well.

"It's certainly not an ideal situation, but we have a duty to the student body to keep working." Lelouch sat defiantly and he wasn't the only one.

"We have to work hard!" Shirley beamed like the sun, with a smile as large too. After prom, the two had finally come to an impasse. There was no more 'would they, won't they', now just a blossoming relationship.

"I wish I can be as cheerful as you." Rivalz moaned. The door to the council room opened and in stepped Miles.

"Hey Milly, can I talk to you in private?"

"Oh, hey Miles, finally decide to give the council some of your time?" Rivalz asked sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miles asked, the sound of irritation in his voice.

"It means ever since prom you've been neglecting your duties while we've had to pick up your slack. At least with Kallen she has a reason, you have just decided to leave us high and dry." The room grew tense.

"Rivalz…" Milly started but was interrupted.

"Oh, I'm sorry I've been a little busy lately dealing with the aftermath of this fuckup." Miles said

"And we haven't? We've been having to deal with this mess too y'know!" Rivalz gestured to the mountain of paperwork.

"Oh, because this is really damn important!"

"Stop it both of you!" Milly shot up, ending the argument. Miles scoffed and left the room.

"And there he goes, leaving us with the work again." Rivalz sat back in his chair fuming.

"How about we just take a break, I'll be right back." Milly walked out the door after Miles who wasn't that far away.

"Miles wait!" Miles stopped and turned to her.

"Sorry Milly, I just have a lot weighing on my mind. I'll apologize to Rivalz later." Milly sighed in relief; she didn't like her friends fighting.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" She asked.

"I talked with Cornelia; things are worse than what we thought to be." Milly was afraid to ask, "She's going to announce a curfew tonight, I wanted to let you know in advance so you can prepare the school."

"Thank you, but I sense you won't be staying in." Miles shook his head.

"I'm going to make a quick phone call and then going out to find Jacob. The faster we find a cure for him the more lives I can save. I just hope we don't have to resort to killing him." Miles gaze fell to the floor, obviously these last few days had been hard on him. Milly put a hand on his shoulder with a small smile.

"If anyone can save Jacob from his own mess, it's you Miles. I know you can do it." Miles gave a small thanks before leaving.

When he arrived at his room, he took out his phone and made a call.

"Miles! How are you doing?" Reed answered the phone immediately, he was always an attentive person.

"Reed, how is France treating you?" Miles sat on his bed, preparing to listen to some of Reed's infamous long-winded rants.

"I don't know how a country can treat me, but the Future Foundation is going well? Oh, Miles, do you know how much money is sunk into the war economy each year?" Miles felt like it was rhetorical. "Trillions of dollars! Yet even with so much money spent, the idea of reaching beyond our little mote of dust we call Earth is hardly thought of. Satellites are common, yes, but space travel is so very drastically behind. Imagine what we could do if we applied the research and resources, we use to wage war into rockets to travel into the stars! We could have reached the moon by now, perhaps even Mars!" Reed usually went on these tangents whenever he was worked up or inspired as he puts it. All he could do was sit and wait.

"Oh, I'm rambling again, sorry Miles. What can I do for you?"

"Reed, how well do you know DNA splicing?"

**x-x**

**Yesterday, Ashford Academy**

Lelouch sat with Suzaku on the patio outside, Nunnally had been taken by Sayako for a stroll. She felt guilty for not being there during prom, Lelouch vehemently disagreed, but the maid's sense of honor was too resolute to believe otherwise.

"So, what did you want to talk about Lelouch?" Suzaku asked, enjoying some tea Sayako made.

"Prom has brought some unfortunate revelations, some that I can't bare the burden of." Lelouch solemnly put down his cup of tea looking at Sayako and Nunnally across the field.

"Lelouch?"

"Suzaku, you have to promise me. Promise me with all your heart and even more…"

"Lelouch, what are you talking about?" Suzaku asked concerned, he was worried for his friend.

"Promise me that if anything were to happen to me, that you would protect Nunnally with your life. Business has taken me away from Nunnally more than I want, plans for our future need to be made."

"If you're in trouble I can…"

"No, your help won't be necessary, I can handle it myself. Recent events have me concerned for her safety, and I know you can protect her." Suzaku looked at his friend with stern eyes.

"I will protect her with my life." Lelouch thanked him.

**Present**

Suzaku looked back on that day as a solemn oath, but today he had to break one.

"Due to recent events, the execution of Kyoshiro Tohdoh has been pushed forward. Warrant Officer Kururugi, you are tasked to execute this criminal of the state. Do your military proud." Suzaku was to kill the man that taught him, his mentor before the war. He hadn't spoken to Tohdoh since, and now the first time they'd meet in years would be with a gun in his hands.

**x-x**

**Black Knights Hangout**

"We will break out Tohdoh tonight, you all have your mission tasks. Moveout!" The Black Knights scattered to their Knightmares and prepared to launch.

"The time has come to prove yourself, Zero." Asahina said watching the Black Knights follow Zero's orders.

"I have nothing more to prove. Meet up with your Holy Swords, the plans have been forwarded to your Knightmare." Asahina nodded and moved to his Knightmare.

"I'm ready to go." Steve walked up beside Zero, combat ready, shield and all.

"Good, I've secured you an opening to get into the jail cells, get in and free Tohdoh. Backup will breach through the outer wall when you confirm his safety. On the chance they have already killed him, you will have to sneak out on your own."

"Doesn't sound too hard." Steve shrugged with a small smirk.

"Your bravery is admirable Captain. Now go, we are on a timetable." Steve nodded and left as well.

The plans were set, now it was time to earn the Black Knights a valuable chess piece. After C.C. failed to contact the Chinese Federation, this would more than make up for it. Revised plans aside, Tohdoh was an essential piece to the future of the Black Knights.

**Military Base**

The night was quiet, and the soldiers stationed at the Tokyo military base stood on watch. But it seemed some were thinking more critically than others.

"So, in essence we are all in one big team deathmatch." The soldier's friend could only look at him at astonishment.

"Wow, you really are that stupid?" The other man said, before the other could retort a shield flew at their faces and knocked them out.

Steve moved the bodies to a nearby alley and approached the door, he retrieved a hacked key card that was given to him by Zero and swiped it through the keypad. The light lit green and the door unlocked for him.

"Zero doesn't disappoint." Steve opened the door and slipped through.

Steve had to find the detention blocks, thankfully once again Zero came in with a detailed blueprint of military base. By coincidence, the detention blocks weren't that far away.

As Steve entered the nearest building, he heard a conversation between a couple of soldiers. As he walked closer, he could see two soldiers in a break room drinking from cups. "Hey, did you hear who is gonna execute the terrorist?" The soldier on the left asked.

"No? Why should I?" The other soldier asked.

"I heard it's gonna be that Eleven kid from the Special Corps, I know a guy who is on guard with the base captain, and he heard from one of his friends over hearing the Eleven talking to the base captain about executing the terrorist." The two soldiers had a laugh at the irony of it all as Steve walked past the two.

In the detention block, Tohdoh sat on the floor meditating. It kept him at ease with his imminent death.

"I heard they changed your executioner, terrorist." Tohdoh's guard taunted him from the other side of his cell. Tohdoh didn't feel the need to respond or give him the satisfaction.

"You should be glad it's someone you know, it's gonna be Warrant Officer Suzaku Kururugi." Tohdoh opened his eyes to see his jailor, the look in his eyes showed his sincerity. The cruelness of it all was Tohdoh understood why and how. He took care to get updates on Suzaku after the war and knew he joined the Britannians.

"Not gonna talk, huh? You Elevens sure know how to keep quiet." The jailor chuckled and walked away. When he did Tohdoh closed his eyes again and meditated.

"Gah!" The voice of the jailor cried out in pain and Tohdoh opened his eyes just in time to see an object return from where he came from.

From his left, another Britannian walked out. He was different from the rest of the others, he wore a navy-blue costume with a silver star, and a red, white and blue shield. His helmet also had a silver 'A' on it.

"Kyoshiro Tohdoh?" The man asked.

"Who is asking?" Tohdoh questioned.

"Captain America, and I'm hear to get you out." The Captain aimed his shield at the gate locked and slammed it. The lock crumbled and the door opened to his freedom.

"Who are you with?" Tohdoh asked as he stood up.

"The Black Knights, your Holy Swords came to us and Zero could hardly say no."

"So, Zero sent you to rescue me?" Tohdoh walked out of his cell to the Captains side.

"We aren't out of the oven yet Tohdoh-san. N1 to K1, package is secure, requesting for exfil." The Captain spoke into his earpiece.

"Confirmed N1, Q1 the Holy Swords are coming to you now. Let the package know exfil will be hot." Tohdoh could barely hear the voice of Zero over the earpiece.

"Got it, get ready for a fight Tohdoh."

The outside of the military base was bombarded with explosions as six Knightmares burst through the wall. The red Knightmare with the claw shot towards the barracks, while the four identical Knightmares attacked the Knightmare depots housing the Britannian Sutherlands and Glasgows.

Inside the building however was Suzaku Kururugi, already running towards the mobile A.S.E.E.C. base housing the Lancelot.

**Tokyo Settlement**

" _In order to precisely understand what I'm working with; I'll need a DNA sample. If you can get me a vial of this patients' blood, I can create a suitable agent to reverse the effects."_

Miles stood on a nearby repeating Reeds words. He was going to have to fight Jacob again, he didn't like the sound of it, partly because the last time they fought Jacob pretty much threw him around like a chew toy.

And then there was Rivalz, god what an annoying prick. What did he know? Did he go out into the city to fight criminals every night? Did he know anything about risking his life for people he didn't know?

"Can anything go right?" Spider-Man messaged his head as irritation set in.

Out in the distance he could hear an explosion, of course that never brought anything good.

"I guess not." Spider-Man sighed as he swung off.

**Looking at the new Spider-Man Miles game for PS5 has got me thinking about his costumes. That white, black, and red design is super cool looking. Also, Spider-Cat is cute. Reed is coming physically some time soon, I'm still on the fence on which version to bring forward. 616 Reed is always a good start…but I was also kinda thinking of Earth-65 Reed since there's so little about him I can explore a bit with his character. Make him into his own thing, y'know? Anyway, enjoy the chapter, the next one will be a doozy.**


	25. Stage 13-2: Jail Break

**Japan, 8 years ago**

The snap of shinai sticks filled the dojo followed by grunts of pain and a body falling to the floor.

"Still reckless, Kururugi-kun, you're too forward with your movements, predictable. You must apply what I've taught you in ways that only you will replicate." Tohdoh hung up the wooden sword, the practice Kendo between him and Suzaku had gone as expected. Suzaku sat with his butt on the ground huffing and puffing, tired from the thrashing he received from Tohdoh.

In Suzaku's mind, it didn't end up all that bad. He had gotten a few good hits in and managed to prolong the fight for a good time. It wasn't enough to defeat someone as great as his Tohdoh, a master teacher.

"That will be enough for today, put up your shinai." Suzaku did as told and hung up his sword on the wall.

"How are things with you, Kyoshiro-senpai?" Suzaku asked as he returned in time for Tohdoh to pour the two of them tea.

"Well enough as they've always been, but I wish to talk about you, how are you? Have you been getting along with the prince?" Tohdoh took a sip of his tea.

"Lelouch is so annoying, he's a know-it-all, he thinks too highly of himself, his ego is large enough to take up the whole room!" Suzaku lambasted the exiled prince, complaining about all his worst traits. However…

"But?" Tohdoh asked, sensing the unspoken truth.

"But he's kind, at least to Nana, he's smart, he's passionate, he's my new friend. I don't have a brother…but I see him and Nana as my family." A small smile graced Suzaku's lips.

"You've grown quite attached to the prince and princess over the last year. I wouldn't be surprised, you are children, many your age begin to grow lasting bonds of kinship. Keep them close Suzaku, you don't know when they'll be gone."

**Tokyo Military Base, Present**

On site forces were crushed thoroughly and quickly as the Black Knights made their way to Captain America and Colonel Tohdoh. In Lelouch's eyes, everything was going smoothly.

"You devised a sound plan, Zero. You must live up to the stories I've heard." Tohdoh commented behind him in the Knightmare cockpit.

"We can celebrate once our objective is complete, then you may shower me with all the praise you like." Tohdoh could only chuckle at Zero's dry humor.

In front of them a truck with an attached trailer drove into view and parked beside them. The trailer opened to reveal a new Knightmare, a Gekka. It looked noticeably different to the others piloted by the holy swords. It was black, with red ribbons at the back of the cockpit, fitting for a commander.

Tohdoh exited from Zero's Knightmare onto his own Gekka now surrounded by his holy swords.

"Welcome back, Colonel." Asahina said.

"Thank you, you've all worked so hard for this." Tohdoh was thankful, he could not have asked for a better team.

"Didn't even break a sweat, sir." Senba taunted.

"Cooperate with Zero and defeat any remaining forces!" Tohdoh was met with a series of 'yes sir's as the holy swords went to work.

"Zero, we have trouble!" Kallen spoke over the radio and pointed to the White Knight approaching them.

"Black Knights target that Knightmare. I will be forwarding you all data on this Knightmare."

**Tokyo Art Gallery**

Euphemia looked on with concern as the Lancelot and its pilot fought a 7-on-1 battle.

"Turn off the TV!" Darlton commanded.

"Hold that order, I wish to see how this will end." Euphemia said, Darlton backed down and moved to make a call. Kururugi was going to need back up against the terrorists.

Euphemia watched as Suzaku fought on inside the Lancelot, for his sake she hoped he would win this fight.

**Tokyo Military Base**

Suzaku recoiled from a blow from behind, the Black Knights had been one step ahead of him, he couldn't counter their attack.

Behind him another Knightmare appeared, it thrusted its sword at his cockpit. But the way it moved…no he was certain who was behind that Knightmare. Suzaku narrowly dodged the sword, only for it to cut into the top of his cockpit and shear it open.

"Suzaku, is that you?" The words of Tohdoh came from the other Knightmare as its cockpit opened.

"Kyoshiro-senpai, it is you." Suzaku paused as the master and student stared each other down.

"Suzaku, I feared you had joined the Britannians, but this?"

"I stick to my principles! You however would throw it away for your life."

"Do I disappoint you? Then stick to your schedule, execute me here!" Tohdoh clashed with the Lancelot, Suzaku had barely brought his Knightmares arms up to block it before the impact.

"You've become a cowardly boy, Suzaku, too afraid to change the status quo! You have failed me!"

"Denying everything in our society is meaningless! Once I make them trust me, I'll have the power to change it all!"

"Do you truly mean that?" Tohdoh asked.

"Yes!"

"Then you must continue down your path! Regardless who wins or loses, you will achieve nothing if you aren't willing to risk it all. That goes for countries as well as individuals. Fight well, Suzaku." The two broke from their stalemate and reached for their swords.

Watch all this, Lelouch sat stunned, watching as his friend was revealed to be the object of frustrations. Suzaku was the White Knightmare.

"Zero, this is Kallen, you get out of here. I'll help the Tohdoh eliminate the target." Kallen sped forward with the Guren.

As Suzaku and Tohdoh fought, the two were surrounded by the Holy Swords and Kallen, ready to kill him.

"No wait! Stand down!" Lelouch called out.

It was too late as Senba brought down his sword, but it didn't come down. For has hard as Senba tried to push the Knightmare the sword wouldn't budge. Suzaku saw that as his escape out and crashed through Senba. With the Holy Swords in front of him, he could see what was stopping Senba from striking. It was…

"Webs?" Suzaku asked as some weight fell onto the front of the Lancelot.

Appearing from thin air, in red and black, was none other than Spider-Man.

"Sorry to crash the party, I needed something to punch." Spider-Man cracked his knuckles looking at the Black Knights in front of him. He turned around to see the pilot of the Lancelot, only for it to reveal Suzaku.

"So, you're the pilot of the White Knight? I'd say it's nice to meet you, but this really isn't the best of times. What are we looking at?" Spider-Man asked.

Suzaku had to shake his head to realize what Spider-Man was asking about. "My teacher, Tohdoh and his holy swords, and the Black Knights ace pilot. They're strong." Spider-Man shrugged.

"Okay than, you take the red one, I'll take the 5 on the left. Sounds fair? Break!" Spider-Man jumped from the Lancelot and zoomed to Tohdoh without any consideration, leaving the red Knightmare to him.

Spider-Man punched the nearest of the grey Knightmares, it shuddered with a punch and couldn't dodge out of the way. Inside, Urabe could only grit his teeth as the hero passed his defense.

"Damn it, I can't hit him!" Urabe cursed as he swatted at the spider crawling on his Knightmare. As Spider-Man reached the top of the Knightmare, yellow electricity shot from his hands as he clutched the Gekka, shocking the entire unit.

"Urabe!" Tohdoh exclaimed as he swung his sword trying to relieve Urabe from the spider.

Spider-Man back flipped over the sword behind Knightmare and kicked it hard enough to push it onto Tohdoh.

"We got this!" The rest of the holy swords launched after Spider-Man, but like Urabe before them, they could hardly get a hit in.

"Zero, what data do you have on Spider-Man?" Tohdoh asked.

"Not enough to counter him. He's too fast for a Knightmare and too small to hit, avoid him as much as you can." Zero said.

A loud crash brought his attention back to the fight as Chiba's Knightmare had its gun arm broken.

"He's a monster." Tohdoh said as Spider-Man swung between the three Knightmares, dodging the bullets and swords that swung after him.

"Holy Swords, retreat! Get Urabe out of here, I'll deal with the spider." The three knew better than to question Tohdoh and back away from Spider-Man, leaving the two of them alone.

"Y'know, usually letting your reinforcements go isn't a smart move." Spider-Man taunts as he stood on the broken Gekka arm.

"I cherish my comrades, what do you cherish Spider-Man?" Tohdoh asked as his cockpit opened to reveal his face.

"Me? Well, when the bad guys stay locked up."

"Is that what I am? The bad guy?"

"Morally questionable at best." Spider-Man responded.

"Is it questionable to want freedom? To want to see my country free from these interlopers?" Tohdoh asked.

"Those people had families."

"And what of the families trampled over by the Britannian machine, did you ever see the piles of bodies of citizens Britannia freely killed? I doubt you did; you were too busy acting high and mighty in their homeland. You're a hypocrite."

"I-I…"

"The last thing this country needs, is more interlopers like you." Tohdoh aimed his Gekka's arm cannon at Spider-Man and fired.

Spider-Man flipped away landed on the backside of the Lancelot, from the wear and tear on the Knightmare it looked to have taken quite the beating from the red Knightmare, but it also looked beat up as well.

"Hey, wanna switch partners?" Spider-Man asked.

Suzaku looked as both Tohdoh and the red Knightmare sped after them and made a quick decision. "Sure, let's do that." Suzaku spun the Lancelot around as the two switch opponents.

Spider-Man sprung from his position to attack the red Knightmare, like the Holy Swords this one had trouble hitting such a small target. Inside the Guren, Kallen swore to herself as she swung the knife but not connecting.

"Stop moving you bastard!" She muttered to herself, she made a wide arc with her hands and finally got a hit that threw him to the side of the building.

"HA!" She cheered, unfortunately she celebrated too early as the spider pulled himself out of the small crater.

"Ugh, I'm tired of this!" Spider-Man said as he bolted from the side of the building towards the Guren.

Kallen used the Radiant Wave Surge as Spider-Man sped at her, but he swung out of the way and around to the arms joint. The Guren was rocked as Spider-Man punched the Guren as hard as he could, the result left the silver arm dangling not completely off.

"Kallen retreat!" The voice of Zero called over her radio, but she couldn't as Spider-Man landed on her cockpit and repeatedly punch the lid to the cockpit. Finally, the fist came through and pulled the lid off the Guren leaving her open.

Rage, that was what Spider-Man felt. The tunnel vision that was wanting to defeat your opponent so thoroughly that they won't get back up. Spider-Man reeled back another punch, ready to connect it to whoever piloted the Knightmare. But as he got a good look at who was piloting, he stopped.

"Naoto…" The only words that came from Kallens mouth as she crosses her arms in front of her bracing for the attack, hoping this wouldn't be the end for her.

Kallen…Kallen was the pilot. He was so caught up he almost killed her. Spider-Man stepped back as Kallen realized he had stopped.

"Get out of here, leave." Spider-Man said as swung away to the Lancelot who had gotten out of the fight from Tohdoh. The last of the Black Knights took this as their opening and shrouded their escape with chaff smoke, eager to leave.

"We should follow them." Suzaku said, readying the Lancelot to follow them.

"No, they got what they came for. It'd be a waste, plus that Knightmare of yours looks like it's had enough." Just as they left, a battalion of Knightmares had arrived on scene.

"Warrant Officer Kururugi, where are they?" One of the Knightmares asked.

"They got away, sorry sir. Where's the air force?" Suzaku asked.

"They were sabotaged, we believe by an outside force."

"Outside force?" Suzaku asked.

Spider-Man didn't pay attention, instead reflecting on Tohdoh's words. He had come to Area 11 to go to college, not to debate right and wrong with terrorists. Yet he somehow got in the middle of the start of a revolution. Was Tohdoh right? Is he a hypocrite?

**Black Knights Hideout**

"My Guren!" Rakshata ran towards the red Knightmare, inspecting all the dents and damages.

"Sorry." Kallen said as she climbed down from the cockpit.

"This is going to take a week to fix, the arm is practically split in two!" Rakshata wailed about her baby as Ohgi ran up with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay?" Checking her face for any lacerations.

"I-I'm fine, a little scary to see a guy take down a couple Knightmares with his bare hands…but I'm good. Thanks, Ohgi." Kallen gave a small smile as Ohgi sighed in relief.

"That's good, where's Zero. We need him now."

"Is something wrong?" Zero stepped from the shadows, as calm as ever.

"We…have visitors." Ohgi said.

"Visitors?" Zero asked.

"You must be the infamous Zero I've heard oh so much about!" Behind Ohgi, a mans voiced walked out of the vehicle dressed in a suit and tie.

"Sorry Zero, but he came outta nowhere. Threatened to reveal our location to the Britannians if he didn't have a talk with you." Ohgi said dejectedly.

"Don't feel so down Mr. Kaname, you did to the best of your abilities. If I genuinely wanted to harm your organization, I'd have told the Britannians weeks ago of your location. No, I simply wish to talk. You do owe me, Britannian air support were only minutes from launching if it weren't for me." The man gave a fake smile, Lelouch stared the man down in return.

"And what did you want to talk about…?"

"Khan, Eugene Khan. You see, nothing comes in and out of the Chinese Federation without my knowledge. Whispers have told me that the Black Knights had sent an envoy to speak with the Eunuchs, and I'm sure you know how collaborative they are." From his own intelligence, the Eunuchs were a greedy bunch, content to rule over the Chinese Federation in place of the crowned princess.

"Your point?" Zero asked.

"It's simple, as one revolutionary to another, I seek a partnership."

**A relatively short chapter this time. Imma be honest, I had most of this done for half a month but had some problems with the fight. Idk I just wasn't feeling it. In the end I made some changes and finished it as is. I think it's best I just move on from this chapter or else it'll keep nagging me. Hope you enjoy it, and maybe next chapter I will get that nagging feeling out.**

**Edit 11/11/20: "the Eunnuchs were a -group- greedy bunch"**


	26. Stage 14: Responsibility

**Happy New Years doods, apologize for the lack of chapters since the beginning of December but I’ve been in a bit of a writers block and been busy to add to it. So, first things first! This story is now on AO3! The story will be updated there as well, every previous chapter is already up so go read through it again if you’re feeling nostalgic. Anyway let’s continue.**

**Black Knights Hangout**

The last thing Steve felt was an incredibly sharp pain followed by an intense cold, in his mind it felt like when he fell into the ice all those years ago. He didn’t know how long he had been frozen, but the first thing he saw when he awoke was Kallen.

“You good there Steve?” Kallen asked, concern as Steve fell on his rear.

“What happened?” Steve asked as he slowly stood up.

“We have a guest.” Kallen said as she nodded to the newcomer.

He stood with a suit and tie, and a devilish smile. Steve didn’t trust him at all.

“My apologies, Captain, but I knew you would stop me from meeting Zero.” The man put his left hand over his right, and just then did Steve see his jewelry. On his hand, each finger was decorated with a ring. Each ring was a different color, but one was missing. His left middle finger was empty, something told Steve that it probably shouldn’t be.

“How did you know we were here?”

“Careful reconnaissance, the Ten Rings know how to find a target. Even one so elusive as the Black Knights. I hope this doesn’t ruin our business relationship moving forward.” The man left with a smile on his face, going back into the Black Knights luxury vehicle.

“Who is he?” Steve asked Kallen.

“Calls himself Eugene Khan, aka The Mandarin, leader of the Ten Rings. Some sort of criminal group in China that helped us out, allegedly. So, he got the drop on you?” Kallen asked.

“He had to; I didn’t even see him. Then there is the instant freeze, how did he do that?” Steve looked to Kallen, only to receive a shrug. Steve could only frown, unsure of the company that has invited themselves into their home.

“Let’s head inside, we can only trust Zero to do what’s best for the group.” Steve nodded and headed inside with her.

**Government Bureau, Next Morning**

Let it not be said that Euphemia Li Britannia was not an empathetic woman, in fact one could say she cared a little too much about the subjects under her.

“How are you, Suzaku?” She asked the ace pilot as he lie on the medical bed, his sides were lightly bandaged and an adhesive over his forehead. Other than that, he wore a military issued shirt and shorts, something so casual…she wondered if she could ever get away with dressing that simple in public.

“I’m doing fine, thank you Princess. If I’m going to be honest, Ms. Croomy was the one who insisted I be off duty. My injuries weren’t that dire.” Suzaku appreciated Cecile, but she was a real worry-wort.

“She cares about you; she wouldn’t do this if she didn’t.” Suzaku wanted to waive it off, but Euphemia is right. Suzaku should really thank Cecile when he had the chance. “Ah, I forget I’m technically here for professional reasons.” Euphemia reached down into her bag and pulled out a small box. She opened it to reveal a small medal.

“Is that…?” Suzaku was hesitant.

“I insisted that your bravery be rewarded, my sister was quick to fold. I tend to have that effect on her.” Euphemia handed the small box to him, Suzaku looked it over. “Congratulations on the promotion, Chief Warrant Officer Kururugi.”

“Thank you, princess.” Suzaku gave a small bow.

“I think we can skip the formality, if that’s alright with you.” Euphemia said.

“Um, sure. We can do that.”

“Call me Euphie then.”

“Suzaku is fine for me, I guess.” It was a little awkward being this comfortable near someone who had so much power over him. It was like being comfortable with his drill sergeant…if his drill sergeant didn’t hate him.

“Okay, Suzaku. I should warn you that you’ve managed to impress quite a lot of people last night.” Suzaku looked confused.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” He asked.

“Yes, and no. Darlton has certainly been keeping his eye on you, evaluating your skills. But he’s not the only one. The Purebloods – or what’s left of them – haven’t forgotten their vows, I wouldn’t worry too much about them though, they hardly have enough manpower to effect any real change.”

“Who else?”

“Royals, and perhaps the Knights of the Rounds.”

“The Knights of the Round?” Suzaku asked incredulously.

“You’ve impressed some of them, I’ll have you know the selection process is incredibly rigorous, so finding an addition is a lengthy and boring process. The Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein, interviews each new candidate and he’s very picky. He’s also a remarkably busy man, so don’t be surprised if you see a Knight or two pass by our area.”

“Knights of the Round scouting me, yeah that’s not a particularly scary thought.” Suzaku chuckled.

“If they aren’t, surely the attention of royals should be, they may not have as much teeth as they used to but don’t be lenient. None of them are happy of someone like you being in the spotlight.”

“You mean an Eleven.” Suzaku asked solemnly.

“Unfortunately, yes. Some, like my sister Guinevere, would rather see the dogma upheld than let people like you prosper. It’s a shame.”

“No pressure, right?” Suzaku asked.

“Such is the burden of the spotlight; all eyes are on you and not all of them are looking for something good. If I can give any advice, keep close to your chest, and find people you can trust. Friends are a hard commodity to find when people try to use you for their own gain.”

“Thank you, Euphie.”

**Ashford Academy**

Miles felt a chill in the air, the feeling of the fall wind was coming to Area 11. But for now, the sun still shone with its vibrant heat.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Milly sat beside him on a bench overlooking the campus. The roof was a good spot to think, sometimes better than his own room.

“I have a lot on my mind, but mostly? I think he was right.” Miles leaned onto his knees, continuing to look forward.

“He?” Milly asked.

“That general guy, Tohdoh? He had a point, is this what Peter would have wanted? Fighting people who want their country back? With great power comes great responsibility, but who am I responsible for? The Britannian government? The Japanese? Who am I to decide I should save?” Miles sunk into the bench, obviously at a lost.

“Miles, I can’t answer that for you. Only you can decide who you save, sorry Miles.”

Miles sighed, “Well, it was worth the shot.”

“I think you need to do some soul-searching Miles. Walk around, sometimes the simpler things will answer your question.” Milly gave a small smile; one Miles didn’t return.

“Thanks.” Miles stood up and wandered off,

x-x

**Sinister Hideout**

“Your reports have been very lacking, Agent.” The voice of the emperor loomed over Flash Thompson.

“It has been slow work your majesty. I have been studying Area 11 thoroughly, what scenarios to trap the spider in and kill him with. We should be ready soon.” Flash was diligent in his investigations, watching old footage of this Spider-Man and using Electro to mimic any scenario they could be in. The work they did was vital to their work.

“Study only goes so far; results are all that matters.” The emperor was right, and Flash knew it.

“We’ll be enacting out plans soon, your majesty. The spider will die, and your will be done.” Flash gave a small bow, Charles look satisfied enough.

“Then see to it, or else you and your underlings will be left behind.” The communications were cut brief, which left Flash alone.

“Quite a thrilling conversation Mr. Thompson.” Almost alone.

“Beck.” Flash sighed as he turned around to the man behind him.

Quentin was, if Flash could be honest, the most off-putting of all the villains under his command. He never heard of the man, he never came up on any records, and he certainly wasn’t any villain he heard of. He was the most…calm? It was hard to put it into words, there was just something off about the man.

“Oh? Was I interrupting?” Quentin asked as he entered the room.

“No, you’re fine. Is there something you need?” Flash asked.

“Oh nothing, I just wished to watch. It is so rarely I get to ever see his majesty’s face, usually my tasks are given to me by the OSI. You should feel grateful that his majesty saw it fit to speak with you directly, he is a terribly busy man.” Flash rolled his eyes as he walked out of the room.

“Go get Marko, I need him to come with me to secure our plan.” Flash ordered Quentin, wanting to be out of his company.

“As you say, commander.” Quentin walked off, perhaps happier than he should have been.

_Why did you help the pretender at the school?_

The voice of the Symbiote spoke in his mind, ‘ _You mean Spider-Man?’_ Flash spoke to it in his mind, it was still jarring to _hear_ another voice in your head.

_You purpose is to hunt him down and end him, why not take advantage of the situation. Your task would have been over, and you would be rid of these vermin._

‘ _Those kids were in danger, I had to do something. Why do you ask?’_ No one needed to die, especially not innocent bystanders.

_It felt good, to be a hero again._

“Yeah, I guess it did.”

x-x

**Ashford Academy Halls**

Soul searching wasn’t as easy as Miles thought it’d be. Walking through the halls of Ashford brought now answers or reprieve. In fact, it felt like it only worsened it.

“We understand your worries about recent events, but we at Ashford can confidently say that this will not happen again.” Down the hall was a group of people coming his way. In front was none other than Nunnally, with her was another girl, and behind them were a couple handful of adults. Parents?

“Nunnally? What’s all this?” Miles asked. Nunnally stopped on her wheelchair and turned to the girl beside her.

“Kelly, do you mind escorting the parents for a bit?” Nunnally asked.

“Sure Nunna! Okay parents, follow me!” The energetic brunette clapped her hands as if to beckon to parents as they walked past him, leaving him and Nunnally alone.

“Sorry I didn’t hear you Miles, it’s been a little busy as of late. Many of the parents of our high school students, understandably, were worried about their children’s schooling. Me and the junior council have been trying to ease their worries, that was just the latest group of parents we were showing around.”

_Walk around, sometimes the simpler things will answer your question._

“Nunnally, do you have a minute to talk?” Miles asked.

“Um, sure. What is it?” Nunnally moved her wheelchair closer to him.

“I... I have these two friends that hate each other and…well I don’t agree with either of them but I want to help. But I think if I just help one the other will hate me, I don’t want that. I just don’t know what to do.” Miles leaned back against the wall, waiting for Nunnally’s opinion.

“Hmm, sounds like a sticky situation. You know what I think?” Milly leaned forward in her wheelchair, vaguely looking in his direction.

“What?”

“Just help them.” Nunnally smiled.

“Just help them. That’s it?” Miles looked at the girl with a raised brow.

“Of course, you can choose where to help. You aren’t obligated to choose one over the other, in fact you don’t have to help either of them. You can decide what to do. Sorry if it’s a bit too vague, if I had more information, I could probably be a bit more specific.”

“Huh, maybe Milly was right.” Miles remarked.

“What about Milly?”

“It’s nothing, thank you Nunnally. You really helped.”

“My ears are always open; I hope your problem can be resolved.” Nunnally gave a small smile, glad to hear she helped.

As Miles walked away, he sent a text to Milly, it was time for a shakeup.

x-x

Outside the Ashford campus, Rueben Ashford walked with a briefcase and phone in hand, talking to his granddaughter, Milly.

“Yes, Milly, I am on my way to the insurance office. I’m not as old as you think I am. I’ll be back in a later tonight, so tell your mother to eat without me. Yes, I love you too.” Rueben gave a quick farewell to his daughter as he hung up.

Unknown to him, eyeing him from the sewer drain across were the sharp yellow eyes of a predator hunting his prey.

“Assshforrrrrrd.”

**Again, I apologize for the late chapter and quite an uneventful one at that. Next chapter should have a bit more content to it. Anyway, Happy New Year and hope you’ve enjoyed.**


	27. Stage 14-2: Bright Tomorrow

**It's time to get back into the saddle.**

**Area 11**

Reuben finally waved down a taxi, its yellow cab flashed red as it stopped. The door automatically opened, letting Reuben into the cab. It had been a long day, not often did insurance cover a freak lizard monster tearing up your school while Spider-Man and an unknown assailant fought it.

"Where would you like to go?" The driver asked.

"To Ashford Academy." Reuben handed over the address on a slip of paper and let the driver put it in.

The two descended into a comfortable silence as the cab moved forward, entering the casual traffic. Reuben quickly looked outside to see the moon shining overhead and nary a cloud. The streets were emptier than usual after Viceroy Cornelia implemented her curfew. He was lucky to find a cab still operating.

"So, how has the weather been?" Reuben asked, but before the driver could give an awkward response distant cries and loud crunches ring behind them.

"What the hell?" The driver said as he turned his rearview mirror to get a better view. The only thing he could see was a green blur jump onto the cab. The roof of the cab was dented from its weight and quickly ripped off by large claws and scaley skin.

Reuben is met by the large monster that attacked his school in worn and tattered clothes, stained in blood.

"Assssshforrrrrd, finalllyyyy." It spoke.

"I-I-I…" Reuben is befuddled, unable to properly respond.

The driver tried to make a break for it, running from the car but his escape was cut short as the tail of the monster stabbed straight through his chest. The body went lump and Reuben could only look in shock and awe.

"Helllooo Assshforrd," The monster stood up as tall as it could, easily hitting well over 6 feet tall. Its skin was covered in green scales, and its eyes were a yellowish green with black slits like that of an alligator or maybe Crocodile?

"Wh-what are you?" Reuben meekly asked.

"Dooon't you remmemberrr? Youuuu tollld meee my projeeccct was doooomed for failllurrre." Realization struck Reuben eye's, the look that it…he waited for.

"Jacob!? Wha-What happened to you? How?" Reuben asked.

"Assss you can ssssee, the projeeeccct was a sssuccesss." Reuben lunged for him. In a weak attempt to block it Reuben brought his arms up. Instead of death, Jacob grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up to his height.

Sirens blared behind him and a police cruiser stopped behind him, the cruiser produced two officers already pulling out their guns.

"Drop him you freak!" One of the officers shouted, both aiming at Jacob.

"I'llll deeaal with youuu ssssoon." Jacob said as drop Reuben back into the car and approached the two officers.

"Get back! I'm warning you!" Jacob did not listen, so the officers shot. Their bullets didn't even put a dent into his scales. Reuben looked away, not wanting to see the absolute gore that became the two police officers.

"Oh god." Reuben said, cowering in the car.

"Ssssorry about thaaat, I'llll be sure to giiive you the attention you…desssirrrre." Jacob stood over Reuben; claws stained red with blood with what could only be the remains of the two officers.

"Jacob, please, you need help!" Reuben pleaded, but his words were left on deaf ears.

"Hellllp? I feel betterrrr than ever! I can feeeel, I CAN WALK!" Jacob's face…his lizard face could only be described as a devious Cheshire grin.

"But at what cost?" Reuben motioned to the literal blood on his hands.

"Nnnnone." Jacob raised his hand, ready to bring it down and strike when a black and red blur catapulted into him.

"Sorry Connors, gonna have to jump in and stop you there." Jacob was kicked off the car and onto the concrete, standing on the hood of the cab was Spider-Man.

His outfit was different than when he last saw him. It was more black than red, with a cowl on top, and a large red spider on his chest.

"Ssssspiderrrr." Jacob spoke with malice, glaring at the hero.

"Glad you remember me pea brain, unfortunately for you it's time to end this. You need help Connors, this isn't you." Spider-Man hopped off the hood of the car and circled Jacob, who was also standing tall.

"I feel grrreaaaat. Ssssso much energyyyy, unbound by my pathhhetic life! You won't take thissss from meeeee." With startling speed, Connors pounced at Spider-Man and the two fought. Meanwhile Reuben collected himself enough to crawl out of the destroyed cab and grab his phone.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon!" Reuben typed in the designated number for the local police.

"Area 11 Police Department, what is your emergency?" The operator spoke in a calm voice, as it always did.

"There's a big lizard fighting Spider-Man, you gotta get out here now!" Beside him, Spider-Man was flung into the wall of a nearby building strong enough to make an indent in the bricks.

Spider-Man pushed himself off from the wall and delivered a right hook to Connors. The blow pushed back Connors across the street.

"Your face is surprisingly resilient for how ugly it is." Spider-Man quipped as Jacob regained his composure.

Connors roared and charged at Spider-man but could not hit his target as Spider-Man dodged out of the way. Two web-lines were shot at Connors head to stop him in his tracks and wrapping his head in webs. With his vision obscured Spider-Man aimed one more shot in the middle of Connors back, a small tracker in the inevitable chance it was needed.

Connors ripped the webbing off his face and turned to Spider-Man, he tried to pounce at him, but a large beam of light caught him in the air and knocked him down the street. Spider-Man followed the source of the beam to a shining red and gold armor, Iron Man flying 5 feet above him.

"I got more where that came from, so do me a favor and stay down." Tony Stark spoke as more sections of his suit expanded to reveal more weapons.

"Thanks for the assist." Spider-Man said as his attention turned back to Connors.

"You owe me kid, maybe you can show me the formula on those webs of yours?" Tony landed beside him, keeping his weapons pointed at the stunned Jacob.

"Think of something else."

_DODGE_

Instinct spoke to him faster than his mind could, and Spider-Man jumped out of the way as a part of the yellow taxi was shred from its whole and thrown at the two. Spider-Man was lucky to get out of the way, but Iron Man took the blow straight to the face. Jacob tore off another door from the taxi and hurled it at him, forcing him to dive out of the way.

The opportunity granted Jacob a chance to run to the nearest sewer grate and make his escape, leaving the two heroes empty handed.

"Damn it, that hurt." Tony said as he pushed the piece of debris off himself and took in the situation.

"You alright?" Spider-Man asked.

"Yeah, I'm good, but Lizard face escaped." Tony said.

"I put a tracker on him, when I get a ping we'll know where he's been hiding." Underground sewers were infamous for their ability to block signals, so it was only a matter of waiting.

Behind them he could hear sirens approaching as a handful of cop cars finally arrived, presumably called by Reuben. The lead car was drove by none other than Captain Stacy, who was quick to exit his cruiser and approach the two of them.

"Did we miss it?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's gone. I got a tracker on him, but it'll be a while before he resurfaces. When I get a hit, I'll let you and the Viceroy know." Captain Stacy nodded and went back to his officers to control the scene.

"Good thinking kid, you're pretty resourceful." Stark opened his helmet flap to reveal his face.

"When you've been doing this for a few years, you gotta be." Spider-Man said, watching Reuben helped up by a few officers.

"So, I'm gonna go ahead and cash in that favor right now." Spider-Man turned to Stark confused.

"Favor?"

"Yeah, sorry but where I'm from kids like you don't punch big lizard monsters and dodge car doors going 30 miles per hour. So gimme a call when you're not busy." Tony pulled out a business card (from where, he did not know) and gave it to him.

"I'll think about it." Spider-Man said as he pocketed it.

"That's all I ask. See you around kid." Tony gave a two-finger salute before his face plate came back down and he flew away.

x-x

**Area 11**

The door opened and Eugene stepped inside, tossing aside his suit jacket onto a nearby chair. With a few flips of the switches the windows to his luxury suite opened and revealed the night sky of Japan. Back home, the skies were littered with stars, here they were practically non-existent. Before the invasion, Japans skies were full of stars, now the Britannian occupation has neutered its beauty.

His phone rang and so he answered.

"Master Izo, what an unexpected surprise." Eugene sarcastically said as he approached the suite windows and stared out to the city scape.

"Khan, how goes you search for the Black Knights?"

"As easy as I expected it to be, the crimson ring made searching for leads a simple task." Gene admired the ring on his left hand. The liar, the Makluan ring that granted him greater telepathic powers. Walking the streets of Japans ghettos wearing the ring made it only a matter of time before he found the right man who knew where he could find the Black Knights.

"Thank you, Shinichiro Tamaki." Gene chuckled; his thoughts were as loud as his personality.

"Your over reliance on the rings is concerning Khan. The Makluan Rings grant great power, but your skills are deprecating. Like a wolf that has been domesticated, you have lost your natural abilities." Izo was always a stickler, ever since he was his student. However, time has changed the balance.

"Watch your words Izo, I am the Mandarin, and you are subservient to me. The power of the Makluans will not go underused. Not like my father. Your transgressions about our recent changes have not gone unnoticed. Never question the Mandarin, do I make myself clear?" Izo was silent, but even he could not resist against his power.

"Yes, Mandarin." Gene grinned and ended the call, content with Izo's bowing down.

"Izo giving you flack?" Behind him, The Hand assassin, Elektra, emerged from the shadows.

"Elektra, how good of you to show up in my room…without notice." Gene grumbled the last half as Elektra walked up to him.

"I only ensured that your room was clear of any traps." Elektra's blood red clothes were a startling disposition to the light grey of the room.

"How goes the search for the last ring?" Gene asked.

"I've searched through the Indian and African black markets, no luck of it there." Gene frowned at the news.

"You will continue your search in Polynesia next. Perhaps you will have better luck there."

"Sir, I believe my skills are more suited elsewhere. Surely there are threats that need to be taken care of." Elektra had been scouring the globe for the last year, searching every black market and historical museum ever built-in search of the last Makluan Ring. It had been a tiring and boring search; she was an assassin not a hound dog sent to look for lost jewelry.

"You _will_ continue your search; do I make myself clear Elektra?" The rings on his hands started to glow, showing his impatience.

"Yes, Mandarin." Elektra sighed as she disappeared into the shadows, as she always did.

Gene massaged his ring-less finger, imagining the power it would bring with it. The life ring, a small pink ring with the potential to grant immortality (if one were to be diligent). It didn't disintegrate his enemies, or create large fire storms, but it was nonetheless important to his goals.

"I will find you, and you will be mine."

x-x

**Highways of Area 11**

The armored limo wasn't the first idea Euphemia had, but it was the only one that Cornelia let her take.

"Are you alright Euphy?" Suzaku sat across from her in his military uniform, the scrapes from his fight with his former teacher now gone.

"I'm fine. Do you know why I asked you here Suzaku?" She asked, Suzaku could only shake his head. "It's probably not a surprise, but Cornelia plans to leave Area 11 to me when she finishes dealing with the Black Knights. She thinks it will be a good opportunity for me to spread my wings, metaphorically."

"What do you think?" Suzaku asked, it gave Euphemia a chuckled. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Few people ask for my thoughts, so your question is appreciated. In all honesty, I agree with my sister, but that's where our agreement ends. Cornelia imposes Britannias strict policies, and that includes its more barbaric and derelict policies. The only reason she breaks them is in the direst of situations. If Spider-Man hadn't saved me those weeks ago, she would have probably sent her Guilford to hunt him down. But she owes him a debt she could possibly never repay, me too." Euphemia hopes someday she could make up for it, to repay the hero for saving her life.

"Where is this going Euphy?" Suzaku asked.

Euphemia looked out her window, this should be a good enough spot, "Chauffer, park on the side please." The driver did without question, stopping near the guardrail. Euphemia clicked a button on her side and the window between the front and back lifted, cutting off the two sides.

"What do you see Kururugi?" The atmosphere turned cold, Suzaku sensed it immediately.

"Excuse me?"

"What do you _see_? In your most brutal honesty, do not be shy." Euphemia gestured to her left.

Suzaku looked out to see the city and skyscrapers of Area 11. "I see, Area 11. The well-developed colony by Britannia."

"And here?" She gestured to her right.

"The remains of Japan, the ghettos, where it's citizens live in fear, a shadow of it's former self."

"Good, I was hoping there would be a little bit of that pride in you." Suzaku looked back at Euphemia, confused.

"What are you getting at?" Suzaku asked.

"My sister and I believe in different forms of governing, she imposes Britannian policy…but I hope for something more."

"More?"

"The Viceroy of an area can direct and govern as they see fit, as long as it benefits the motherland. So, when I become Viceroy it will be up to me to govern this area, Japan. I don't want to govern like my family before me, to crush the people beneath me. Life is inherently important, and should be protected, not subjugated to the trash heap like Japan…like any nation before and after it."

"You want change." Suzaku eyes widened as he started to finally understand.

"I want more than change, I want peace. I want a world that kindness can be extended to any stranger, I want a world that won't take away my brothers and sisters."

"Lelouch, Nunnally, and Clovis." Suzaku filled in the gaps on his own.

"I want to reform Britannia, starting here in Japan. I plan to talk to my brother Schneizel about the specifics, and I want you to be there."

"I'm just a soldier, why would you want me?"

"Because most of all, you are Japanese, you know this country better than I do. With your help we can make Japan better for all it's citizens, and maybe in time we won't need Areas anymore."

Suzaku could only stare at Euphemia, the princess in pink that had just now smashed all his expectations. Her ambition was great, greater than anyone's he's ever known. To reform Britannia from within that…that reminded him of himself.

"Do you believe you can create change?" Suzaku asked, his voice solid.

"I do, I have to." There was conviction, he hadn't heard that kind of tone for a long time, and it reminded him of only one person he's known.

_I will obliterate Britannia!_ The small voice of a child rung in his mind; conviction seemed to run in the family.

"Then I will help you reform Britannia, to make a brighter future." Suzaku was convinced, more than anything he believed her.

Euphemia smiled, getting Suzaku on her side was a crucial part of her plan to reform the system. If the people of Japan saw that one of their own can succeed it will give weight to her reforms. It would make them trust the new system.

"Thank you, Suzaku, I won't let you down."

"I should be saying that." Suzaku laughed.

Euphemia stuck out her hand, and Suzaku met halfway with a handshake. Together they can make a better future, they had to.

**Just for clarification Miles is now using his new 2099 suit from his recent video game. I've been saying it for years that Miles needed new costumes and now we have official ones! Hope you've enjoyed.**


	28. Stage 14-3: Reorganization

**With the end of this chapter, it will mark this story's 100k words milestone. Thank you to all that stood by this story and I hope you enjoy what's to come. As I'm writing this the weirdly timed winter storm so I hope all of you US readers are staying warm and safe, personally I've never experience so much snow before so it's strange to me to see the ground filled with snow that isn't already in a puddle. Now let us continue and see what comes next for everyone.**

**Government Bureau**

Euphemia walked the halls with Suzaku, she held herself with a sense of authority he had not seen from her. The two of them were guided by one of the officers on-site to a meeting room filled with only a few people and a foreboding screen at the end of the room. He could only assume Prince Schneizel would not personally make it to this meeting.

"Thank you officer, you can leave us." The officer gave a quick bow before leaving the room.

Euphemia turned to the rest of the room to acknowledge them, to Suzaku they looked like very typical nobles he would see in Pendragon - the Britannian city that held the monarchy. "Thank you all for coming, I'm sure you've all heard of Officer Suzaku Kururugi?" Euphemia gestured to him.

"Your fame precedes you Mr. Kururugi, a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sir Reginal Braun." Reginald stood up and shook Suzaku's hand quickly.

"I'm sorry but I can't say I know who you are." Suzaku said.

"That's quite alright, I'm the head of a fairly large banking franchise, Britannia United. I'm sure you've heard of us." Suzaku had, it was a common bank in Area 11.

"I have." The man looked content with that and he sat back down. Charles was a plump man with a verbose voice and cheery mood to him. He looked relatively old, grey hair, beard and mustache, like any stereotypical grandfather.

"Thank you Reginald, always the first to shake hands." Sir Braun could only give a hearty laugh in response. Euphemia motioned to two other members in the room, the first was another younger man in a black suit and green tie.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Kururugi, I am Harry Osborn, I am the CEO of Oscorp, we make pharmaceutical supplies and technology. I met Euphemia at a fundraising event a few years ago, she's a wonderful person to have brought me on to her plans." Osborn...he's heard that name before.

"I can see the gears in your mind turning already so I might as well say it. Yes, my father was Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin." That's where he heard the name from.

"Sorry, I don't mean to judge." Mr. Osborn could only shake his head in response.

"It's fine, I've been dealing with the fallout for some time now. I've repositioned Oscorp to help the people, not to harm them. Princess Euphemia is the best way we can do that, I'm glad you see it that way Kururugi." He and Harry shook hands, with Euphemia glad the two could meet on the same ground.

"And lastly this is Mrs. Abigail Mulaney, she and her husband own the largest real estate agency in Area 11." The woman was well into her age, greying hair and wrinkles, but she held a bit of elegance with her and experience.

"I saw your fight on live television, for one so young you fight as if you've been in war more than people twice your age."

"Thank you, I had a great mentor." The same mentor he fought only a few days ago.

Like the last two, Suzaku shook her hand. "You have some interesting allies, Euphy." Suzaku said.

"Oh?"

"You've managed to bring together some heads of powerful industries. Pharmaceuticals, banking, and land...something Japan is lacking all of." Suzaku realized how smart it was to get these people as allies.

"You catch on quickly dear." Abigail was impressed.

"Dear Euphemia sees the needs of the Japanese people, with all of us combined we should be able to raise their quality of life and restructure the ghettos. But even with all our good will, we're lacking the most important key to our plan." Reginald told him.

"Trust." Euphemia said.

"I can see why, the Japanese people have a complete distrust of Britannians." Suzaku noted.

"Which is why you are the most important ally we have, Suzaku. You show that the Japanese can progress, that they don't have to be relegated to second class." Harry pointed out his part in the group.

"And when I become Viceroy we will push for better policies for Japanese, we can't be too forceful though. We don't have much sway, you all may be experts in your field but even your influence has limits. Which is why…" A beeping came from the television, and Euphemia could only smile.

"Right on time." She said as the television turned on to reveal the face of Prime Minister Schneizel.

"Ah, Euphemia, I apologize for being late business called. I see you've already brought along Mr. Kururugi." Suzaku did a slight bow for the recognition. He had heard of Schneizel from Lelouch long ago, from what he remembered Schneizel was the smartest of all the royal children. So smart that even Lelouch could never beat him.

"A pleasure, your highness." Suzaku greeted.

"Please, spare the pleasantries, we are partners...even though you do technically work for me. How goes Lloyd, he tends to focus on the results of your Knightmare operations rather than himself."

"The same as he's always been." Schneizel could only chuckle in response, Lloyd was always the eccentric type.

"So good to have you with us, brother." Euphemia beamed a bright smile.

"I believe in what you're doing Euphemia, and I plan to help where I can. So let's talk about acquisitions we can make to put our best step forward."

Everyone sat down and the meeting started, and for once Suzaku felt like they truly cared.

x-x

**Paris, France**

"Samples?" Reed asked as he turned to his computer monitors screen.

"Yeah, some blood and a broken tooth, think that'll be good enough?" The face of Spider-Man (or rather his mask) filled his screen.

"That should be enough, I'll run tests as soon as I receive it. When will that be, exactly?"

"I've sent it now, it'll be to you within the week. How fast do you think it will take?" Spider-Man asked.

"Hard to say, I have to run tests all day and night to learn how this Connors was able to splice lizard DNA into human DNA. If his original formula was still intact it would be significantly faster, but we'll just have to use what we have." Spider-Man only nodded, content to leave Reed to his work, it wasn't his field of expertise.

"Keep me updated Reed." Spider-Man said his farewell and the screen shut off.

Reed leaned back into his chair and imagined a double helix, a spiral of DNA. A thousand different ideas spun in his head, thinking up solutions and problems for each solution to solve the problem before him.

"Hmmm...maybe that would work." Reed now had some simulations to work up.

x-x

**Area 11**

Spider-Man swung through the city, he had already sent the samples to Reed so it'll take time to receive anything from him. Now he just had to wait.

"So, how is the new costume fitting?" Milly asked over his radio.

"Pretty good." He said as he performed a backflip in the middle of the air and kept swinging.

"You're showing off aren't you." It was less a question and more a statement.

"You know me." Spider-Man smiled as he patrolled the streets.

Spider-Man perched himself onto a building, overlooking the city. The night was darkening even more, and the streets were less crowded because of the curfew. It was already midnight, and he probably needed to go to bed soon.

"Nothing on the police monitor?" Spider-Man asked.

"Just patrols, all seems quiet tonight. By the way, thanks for saving my grandad." Milly told him.

"It'd be really bad if Ashford didn't have a Dean, and I'm sure you'd have given me an earful." Milly could only chuckle at the idea.

"It's not the only thing I'd give you an earful for."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Spider-Man asked.

"You still need to apologize to Rivalz."

"Oh right, Rivalz, yeah I should. I feel bad for snapping at him."

"The best you can do is be honest, Rivalz doesn't hold grudges, but that doesn't mean you can ignore it. Come on back I think it's time to hit the sack for tonight." Spider-Man nodded as he looked out to the city one last time.

Elsewhere, in the airport of the Area, Cornelia sat in her office in a call with her brother.

"I still think this is a risky and unnecessary idea Schneizel." Her brother could only chuckle.

"The Special Administrative Zone works for both of you, she gets to coddle the Elevens, you get to strike a blow against The Black Knights."

"I still don't see how it works, explain." Cornelia's stare could make anyone compel.

"If we give the Elevens a route that threatens the very existence of their reason we can cripple them in a way casualties and warfare could ever do. You men won't have to fight, the Elevens will destroy The Black Knights themselves." The explanation was satisfactory, but Cornelia still had some concerns.

"How can you be so sure the Elevens will do that?" She asked.

"Because humanity craves order, doesn't matter who is in charge. Whether it be Japan or Area 11, if the Elevens can live well enough they won't give Euphemia any hassle."

"Quite a lofty gamble Schneizel."

"Not a gamble, it's simply a fact of life. One that will guarantee us the destruction of The Black Knights for good."

x-x

**Black Knights Hangar**

Zero had just finished speaking with Rakshata and was given promising news, the Military District of India had agreed on gifting a submarine to The Black Knights. For now, he had a meeting to attend to. All the Black Knights were situated in the hangar that stored all the Knightmares, the size of the organization has greatly increased since he first arrived. He felt a small sense of pride in his work.

"With recent successes, it's time that we now reorganize. Here are the changes, Kyoshiro Tohdoh is now Chief head of Military Affairs." A wave of nodding heads followed his words, obviously from those that respected Tohdoh.

"Next, head of all intelligence, public relation, and espionage is Diethard Reid." Another wave of disdain followed, he knew this would happen.

"Um Zero, are you sure this is a good idea, I'm no racist but should we trust him with such delicate information?" Ohgi asked.

"You all know I am no Japanese, as well as Captain Rogers. In The Black Knights, race, religion, background, or creed does not determine your place, only results. Who you are and where you come from have little importance in this organization." Ohgi quieted down, the air had turned awkward to everyone. That being said, Kaname Ohgi, you are now Deputy Commander." Ohgi could only look up in shock.

"Me?" He said incredulously.

"Do you decline the position?" Zero asked.

"Um, n-no. I will graciously take it." Tamaki clapped Ohgi on the back in congratulations.

"Research and Development will be headed by none other than Rakshata Chawla." The Indian scientist could only smirk with confidence, who could even rival her?

"Captain of the Zero Squad goes to Kallen Kouzuki."

"Zero Squad?" She asked.

"My personal forces, you will be my elite group." Kallen beamed, satisfied with her position.

"Lastly, Captain Rogers will head as Special Forces and Operations, you will lead a small but strong group focused on the missions others would find impossible."

"Thank you Zero."

"Now for the rest of Squad leader..."

C.C. looked on in boredom, watching the little boy play war. She once tried to engage in it, back when she cared for more than death. It only brought pain and suffering, so she left it behind. In truth at one time or another, she engaged in all aspects of war, but time has eroded her compassion like everything else.

"You're so boring." The voice of Marianne chided in her mind.

"And you are too extravagant." C.C. spat back at her.

"Oh you know you liked those little parties I threw."

"Hardly," C.C. said with a straight face.

C.C. walked away, content to eat the left over pizza she had back at the academy.

**Short chapter this time around but I hope the setup was intriguing enough. As always, thank you for reading, doubly so for the now 100k word milestone. It's been a good time writing this story and developing its characters, we still have a long ways to go so I hope you stick it out to the end.**

**For the Ao3 folk, I'm not too knowledgeable of the inner workings so the story may say it's completed but it's still being worked on. Sorry for the confusion. If anyone can point that out I'll gladly take the help.**


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